A Slave To Evil
by Masked Misfit
Summary: Chase Young wants to once again rule the world, but to do this, he needs one of the Xiaolin Warriors. The Chosen One will become a slave to the evil ways of Chase Young. I suck at summaries. This is my first fic so please review!
1. Choices

CHAPTER ONE: CHOICES:

Kimiko opened her eyes slowly, before forcing her newly awoken body upright. The brightly shining sun was pouring in through the small window opposite her. She rubbed her head; it wasn't like her to sleep in so late in the morning. She heard an encouraging whoop, which came from the training area of the temple, alerting her that her friends were already training. Cursing herself for lying in, she thrust off the thin yellow blanket covering her and dressed herself in her Xiaolin robes quickly. If Master Fung knew she had slept in late, she would be doing extra chores for a week; and she definitely didn't want that.

After a quick shower and a bowl of cereal, she dashed into the training area. Raimundo smiled warmly at her,

"Hey guys," He called to Clay and Omi, who were sparring on the other side of the training area using wooden poles. "Look who finally woke up!" Kimiko scowled at Raimundo.

"Good morning Kimiko, I trust you are ready to begin your training now?" Omi asked. Omi turned and smiled at her, diverting his attention from Clay long enough for Clay to take advantage. He swung the wooden pole at Omi's ankles, which knocked Omi cleanly off his feet. He fell onto the stone floor looking shocked.

"Howdy, lil' lady." Clay called, by way of morning greeting. Raimundo laughed at Omi, who was brushing the dirt off his Xiaolin robes, trying to look dignified.

"That was a most shameful attack, Clay, my friend." Omi said, and he regained his defensive stance.

"Sorry, partner! Just couldn't resist seein' the look on yer' face when I knocked yeh' down like that." Clay laughed as Omi frowned.

Kimiko found herself smiling at her friends when something heavy collided with her head. She staggered sideways, looking around for the flying object. Raimundo was laughing loudly. "Wake up, Kimiko!" He laughed as she forced herself upright. She glared angrily at Raimundo who was smiling annoyingly at her. She looked on the ground to see a wooden pole lying on the floor and picked it up; this must have been the object that collided with her head. He was smirking as he took on a defensive stance and held a pole in his hands. "Bring it." He said as Kimiko charged. She poked him sharply in the stomach with the end of the stick and hopped over his head. As she swung the pole to strike him in the back with it, he swung around and struck her across her back, sending her stumbling forwards. Raimundo chuckled as she regained her balance. Kimiko rubbed her back; she was going to get a bruise where he had hit her.

Trying to control her temper, Kimiko turned around and attacked again. Raimundo thrust his pole up to block her attack, when she yanked her pole upright, sending Raimundo's pole flying across the courtyard. She smiled and twirled the pole in her hands, before striking him across the chest with it, causing him to fall backwards. She leapt onto his chest and held the pole inches from his neck with both hands. She smiled at Raimundo, who was looking shocked. His expression flickered from a small smile to looking angry for being defeated. He forced the girl off his chest and stood upright, while she prepared herself for another attack.

Clay and Omi stopped sparring and watched the other two continue to try and beat each other. Clay was nodding in approval while Omi was cheering. In between whoops he said to Clay, "Kimiko is burning very hot this morning!"

Clay smirked, "I think you mean she's on fire this mornin' lil' guy."

"That too!" Said Omi who punched the air as Kimiko forced Raimundo to the floor again.

At that point, Master Fung entered the training area. With an expressionless face he cleared his throat, to stop Kimiko and Raimundo fighting. They froze and stood upright.

"Kimiko," He said and he looked at her. Kimiko looked up at her master. She knew she was either going to be praised or punished.

"Yes, Master Fung?" She asked, looking at his expressionless face, to see if she could read his expression, and gain hints as to her fate.

"You must stop training immediately and begin your chores, young monk." He told her. Kimiko laughed, while the others smiled. When Master Fung turned sharply and left the courtyard, Kimiko stopped laughing. She thought he had been joking. If she was being punished for sleeping in, he wouldn't want her to miss any more training time for chores, would he? Kimiko looked at Omi, Raimundo and Clay to see if they knew what she was meant to do. Raimundo shrugged, while Omi and Clay shook their heads.

Just then, Master Fung returned into the training area carrying a large bucket and a small scrubbing brush. He stopped in front of Kimiko and held them out to her.

"Use these and scrub the floors inside the temple." She raised her eyebrow and took the objects.

"But I can't miss much more training, Master Fung! I need to catch up." She complained, feeling slightly angry that he wanted her to miss even more training for chores which she could complete in her own time.

"Begin now, young monk." He instructed.

"But, Master Fung, I don't understand why-" Kimiko began.

"Kimiko, do as you are told!" He sternly told her, and frowned at her. With a heavy sigh, she carried the bucket of water and hand brush out of the training courtyard and into the temple. She took at deep breath to calm her anger, which was building inside her and miserably set to work.

Raimundo, Clay and Omi watched as a defeated Kimiko left the courtyard. They turned to Master Fung, who was staring in the direction of the mountains overlooking the temple. He turned without another word and left the courtyard. Raimundo glanced into the temple, where Kimiko had begun to scrub the floors. "That was weird." He commented. "Master Fung doesn't normally behave like that. I thought he want her to work extra hard training to make up for sleeping so long, wouldn't he?" Clay shrugged.

"I don't know, but it sure is strange of Master Fung to make her miss trainin' for chores." He said, as he picked up his wooden pole.

"Yes," Omi agreed, "Master Fung is behaving most strangely." Raimundo moved away from Clay and Omi and sat down; he was too deep in thought to encourage his friends as they resumed training.

A dark figure stood on a large pathway, which protruded from the side of the mountain overlooking the Xiaolin Temple. His reptile-like eyes flickered from each of the Xiaolin warriors training in the courtyard. He began to wonder when the other Dragon would appear; he'd been watching for hours now. In the past months, he had laid low, only leaving his home to watch the Xiaolin dragons in training. Chase Young was almost certain of his decision.

"Still watching?" Wuya called from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. She floated next to his right shoulder in her ghostly form.

"I must ensure I make the right decision." He said simply, while the chosen dragon appeared in the doorway of the temple. Wuya muttered disapprovingly and left Chase alone.

Chase watched as the small girl began training with the boy. He looked at the Warriors; they were only teenagers. How could four mere children beat him? He smirked as the girl bested the boy. It would be interesting to see how powerful she would soon become. He squinted enough to see that she was much shorter than the boy she was sparring with. Smaller, but easily stronger than him.

He assessed to each of the warriors in turn. He knew once he delivered the chosen one to the dark side, the remaining three would try to stop him. He needed to be sure that he was choosing the right dragon, and to get an idea of how powerful the Xiaolin Warriors were apart.

Firstly, he looked at tall, well-built cowboy. He had been watching for long enough to know that his name was Clay. He was no older than seventeen. The cowboy had strength, that was certain, but his element was of little use to the ruler of an evil world. Next, Chase looked at the Brazilian the warriors called Raimundo. Chase guessed his age at sixteen. Wuya had told Chase the story of the brief moment when she had ruled the world in the past, and how Raimundo had assisted her, only to betray her at the last minute. Raimundo's element _would_ have been of use to Chase; with the wind element within his grasp, Chase could easily over-power most forces, but the risk of betrayal made choosing Raimundo an unlikely option. Thirdly, he looked at the little thirteen year old Dragon of Water; Omi. Chase had forced Omi to join his side before. Omi was easily the best _fighter_ within the group, but Chase doubted whether Omi could really ever be evil. Then, finally, he diverted his attention to the small sixteen year old girl; Kimiko. Not only would Kimiko's element be the best to use for Chase, but also Chase had scrutinised her expression many times when she was frustrated, and it was clear that she longed to release her anger. Perhaps being evil could offer her a way to release her anger. However, Kimiko would be the most difficult to deliver to the dark side; she was _very _stubborn and would never choose to join Chase, not unless he forced her.

Kimiko had pushed down Raimundo's guard and forced him down to the floor once again. Chase smiled. He knew now he was making the right decision.

_She's beautiful_, Chase thought to himself, before frowning. He couldn't allow his mind to wander, particularly whilst the dragons were still united. But she _was _beautiful. She was slender and her long black hair was hanging softly around her face. Chase had seen her before, but considered her merely a child. _She is sixteen now, _Chase thought, _She is legal._ Chase shook his head, disgusted at himself for thinking of her in such a way, but his thoughts soon drifted back to her in the same manner.

Just then, an old man entered the training area and spoke to Kimiko. Chase saw her laugh as the old man left. He shortly returned carrying two things in his arms. He thrust them at her and she walked away miserably, clearly leaving the three other warriors stunned. The old man glanced in Chases' direction. Chase smiled, _he knows I'm here._ Chases' grin widened; he could use this to his advantage.

With a final glance at the Temple, Chase turned away and snapped his fingers. He disappeared into a cloud of dark green smoke, grinning.


	2. Jealousy

CHAPTER TWO: JEALOUSY

Chase Young sat on his throne in his home, petting a tiger warrior, which was purring loudly. He had been thinking over his final decision and concluded that it was the best option. He began wondering how to get the Chosen Dragon to the dark side. Should he lie, or trick them? Maybe he could even force his victim. With a small smile, he stood up and brushed down his golden, red and black armour. His home was peacefully quiet and the floating hag was nowhere to be seen. He was sure Wuya would turn up soon enough, but he would enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasted.

Just then, Wuya swooped into the room in her ghostly manner and glided next to Chase. _That didn't last long._ He let out a groan under his breath. _Why does she always turn up when I'm enjoying the peace and quiet?_ He wondered if she turned up at that time purposely, just to irritate him. If she did, it was working well. The tiger fled from the room. Chase thought to himself, _I wish I could do that to get away from her._

"Well, have you decided that you've made the right choice yet?" She asked, with a slight note of irritation in her voice.

"Indeed, I have." Chase replied, sitting back down in his throne, sounding rather bored. Wuya let out an irritated snort and threw her ghostly arms in the air. She had secretly been hoping Chase would change his mind.

"But why _her?_" The emphasis she had put on the word 'her' told Chase only that. Wuya was definitely not happy with his choice.

"Kimiko is the best Xiaolin Dragon. Not only is her element of use to me, but also the anger that builds inside her is growing. What better way to channel her anger than through the use of her element against those who have wronged her?" He paused, and Wuya made a small noise that sounded like a scoff. Chase ignored her.

"Besides Wuya, her power grows. She will soon become a better fighter than Omi, and when that time comes, she must be on our side. When she joins the forces of evil, I will shape her and mould her into my own apprentice. When the day comes for her to rule at my side, she will crave evil enough by then for me to step aside, if I so choose it." Chase added. He answered with a clear tone of boredom in his voice. He wondered where Catnappe had left the old puzzle box when she had released Wuya. Perhaps he could force the old hag back into it.

"CHASE!" She screamed at him, while he calmly slid his eyes to her and pretended to listen intently.

"What if she grows to powerful for you, and betrays you?" She almost shouted, trying to hold his attention. With a dismissive wave of his hand she fell silent.

"Please cease your idiotic screeching. You need not fret, Wuya. I will not allow her to advance to such a stage without her gaining my complete trust." His thoughts drifted back to the beautiful Kimiko at his side. He imagined her in a long black gown with her hair tied back into a sophisticated ponytail with her hand rested upon his. They both sat in thrones, with a long hall of peasants bowing down before them both. He was too lost in his thoughts really follow what Wuya was barking at him. Wuya let out a frustrated cry and then she let out a nasty laugh.

"Who would have ever thought that Chase Young would be fantasizing about the enemy?" She sneered, clearly picking up on his trail of thought.

"Don't be ridiculous, Wuya. I have no thoughts of the child other than the best methods to convert her to our side." He lied, trying his best to look genuine. His heart began to thump loudly. Wuya knew and she would not hesitate to torment him until he admitted it. Wuya continued in a soft voice.

"You've fallen from your high horse, Chase. You've collaborated with the enemy in the past, and now you fantasize about them? Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Chase let out an irritated sigh and pretended to look bored.

"Leave me be, Wuya. You cannot say I 'collaborate' with the enemy when the only time you've risen to a slightly higher power this century was with the aid of the Xiaolin Dragon of Wind." He replied icily. She chuckled and glided around his throne, whispering in his ears.

"Oh no, Chase. Now I know about your little dreams, you will respect me a little more now." Chase sighed again and rolled his eyes. "Maybe you could even fetch me new Shen Gong Wu when they reveal themselves, or turn me back into my former self?" She added with a smirk.

"Wuya, I would not return you to your body. I can barely stand to have you around as it is. Nor will I fetch you Shen Gong Wu, they are used only by the weak and powerless. I would not suggest anybody use them. They grant _false_ power." She was irritating him now.

"Powerless, am I?" She asked, her voice rising steadily. "I may have little power at the moment, but at least I don't resort to _desperate _measures, like you, Chase. You're fantasizing about a silly little girl."

"You know, Wuya. You do not hide your jealousy well at all. Green is an ugly colour on you." Chase commented, with a slight smirk at her. She glared.

"Why would _I_ be jealous of _her_?" Wuya asked, folding her ghostly arms. They both already knew the answer. Deep inside, Wuya knew she cared a great deal for Chase and she was deeply jealous by the amount of time Chase and spent thinking about Kimiko. She had tried to hide it from him, but only rarely did something slip past Chase.

"Because I'm too busy thinking about another person to bother with you or your constant attempts for my attention." He said, rather coldly. Wuya was rather taken aback. She swept away, muttering and cursing Chase under her breath. Chase leant back in his chair, looking rather comfortable. His home was quiet again. He smiled to himself and let his thoughts stray once again.


	3. Victimised

CHAPTER THREE: VICTIMISED

Kimiko was exhausted. She pulled herself up off the cold, hard, stone floor and stretched. She had been scrubbing the floor all day. Her whole body ached. Her clothes were covered in water from the bucket, and she wiped her forehead. She heaved up the heavy bucket of dirty water and tipped its mucky contents over the grass outside. She sighed, glad she was finished and left the room, so she could join her friends for dinner.

As she walked down the hallway, she heard Omi shouting at Raimundo, and Raimundo laughing loudly.

"Oh come on, Omi! You know I kicked your butt in that last battle!" Raimundo teased. Kimiko approached the door slowly, wishing she could have been in any of their places today. She had been thinking about how Master Fung had singled her out all day; but she couldn't work out why. It was amazing to her how much missing a few hours training with her friends meant to her. She heard a chair scrape the floor and a furious Omi challenging Raimundo for a re-match. As Kimiko stepped through the door, they all fell silent and stared. Omi was standing on the table, pointing at Raimundo, but at spotting Kimiko, he hastily sat back down.

"Hey guys." She muttered to them and took her place at the dining table, where a bowl of food sat waiting for her. She was famished and began to eat immediately, not bothering make any conversation with them, but focusing on getting to bed as fast as possible. Clay and Omi stared at their food bowls and continued eating silently. The room was silent for what seemed like forever until Raimundo cleared his throat loudly. Kimiko, who had been eating the food as fast as she could, stopped and looked at him. Clay shot Raimundo a cautious look.

"Man, it's so quiet in here." Raimundo commented.

"Yeah." Clay agreed. "I know."

"How was training?" Kimiko asked bitterly. She knew she should not blame them for being able to train, but she was still angry. The tension in the room shifted into a very uncomfortable environment. Omi was silent, whilst Raimundo and Clay fidgeted uncomfortably.

"It was…normal." Answered Clay, breaking the silence. Kimiko made a noise to show she had acknowledged his answer and began eating her food slowly. Her body was stiff and aching. She would fall asleep if she did not get to sleep soon, but she still had to help the others clear away the table after dinner.

"How was…. Your chores?" Raimundo asked, sounding slightly frightened as he spoke. She looked at him; Raimundo had stopped eating and was staring at her apologetically.

"Tiring." She muttered back, not really wanting to speak about it.

"Kimiko?" Omi said quietly. He had been silently eating until now, when he looked up at her. She finished her food and stood up, placing her bowl next to the sink with the pile of dirty dishes, waiting to be washed.

"Yes, Omi?" She responded, hoping if she made a tiny bit more conversation, Clay and Raimundo would stop staring and continue eating their food. The three pairs of eyes glued to her were beginning to irritate her. She attempted to ignore them and concentrate on Omi as she sat back in her place.

"Do you know why Master Fung took you out of training today?" He asked shyly. Usually Omi was never shy about anything, but perhaps this was because he sensed that she was tired, grumpy and angry.

"I have no idea, Omi." She replied trying to sound puzzled, but the exhaustion merely made her sound bored. Clay pushed his bowl away and sat calmly whilst he spoke.

"Well, even I'm gonna' admit that Master Fung was actin' mighty strangely today. I wonder why he's gone and took you outta trainin'." Clay said. The tone of his voice made it obvious that he was hoping for a little more conversation from the group. Omi had finished his food and sat at the table whilst waiting for Raimundo to finish.

"I dunno." Raimundo shrugged. He spotted the others empty bowls and tipped the remaining contents of his food into his mouth. Omi pulled a disgusted face and Raimundo began to chew loudly, occasionally opening his mouth, and revealing a mouth of chewed up food. Clay seemed not to notice. Kimiko stared without really seeing, thinking of the nice comfortable bed waiting for her.

There was a flicked of green and Dojo emerged from the dark hallway.

"Master Fung wouldn't take you out of training unless he had a good reason Kimiko." Dojo said knowledgably, slithering up the table leg to climb onto the table. He peeked inside the empty bowls and sighed. Dojo had been hoping to eat the Monks leftovers, but all four bowls were empty. Kimiko stared at Dojo.

"How do you know that?" She asked him, feeling slightly comforted but worried at the same time.

"Because he acts strangely when something important is happening." Dojo moved back into the middle of the table, so he was in full view of the monks.

"Yeah but…" Raimundo began, "I mean, if something _that_ important was happening… wouldn't Master Fung have said something? We aren't children anymore. If it was important I think he'd tell us." He flickered his eyes between Dojo's face and Kimiko's, trying not to stare at one for too long.

"Hmm..." Clay said, scratching his chin thoughtfully and resting his large elbow on the table. "I reckon Rai is right, Dojo."

Dojo threw his scaly arms in the air. "Fine! Don't listen to the only one who knows what he's talking about." He slithered off the table and crawled away, muttering about how he had known Master Fung for the longest so he should know.

"Kimiko?" Clay asked. Without realising they had done so, her eyes had slid shut. She forced her eyes open and jerked upright. The three stared at her.

"I'm thinkin' you should go to bed, lil' lady. You're lookin' tired." Clay said. "We'll take over your chores tonight. You've been workin' hard all day." He placed his large hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Kimiko smiled wearily and put her hand on his to show him her appreciation. Omi opened his mouth to protest, but Raimundo shook his head.

"That will not be necessary, Clay." Master Fung's voice loomed from the darkness of the hallway, and the old monk came into view. The monks stared at him. Kimiko felt the rage building inside her and took a breath to calm herself down. She was still angry for the lack of explanation he had provided her.

"Kimiko. Until further notice, you will _not_ return to training with your fellow monks." He said whilst looking at her with no expression etched upon his face. Kimiko's jaw dropped.

"B-b-but-" She stammered. Raimundo, Clay and Omi were stunned and merely watched as Kimiko stood up.

"Why!" Kimiko demanded, her anger was bubbling to the surface. It was at times like these when she had to focus to really control her emotions, and she knew is she wasn't careful, she could accidentally use her element without intending to. The last thing she wanted was to be in more trouble.

"All will become clear soon enough." Master Fung answered simply, staring at her.

"No." Kimiko said firmly, "I want an explanation. You can't just stop me training without telling me why!"

Omi was shocked. He had never seen any of the monks speak to Master Fung in such a rude tone. For a moment, Omi thought Master Fung would react badly to Kimiko's tone, but he remained calm; surprisingly calm.

"You must do as you are instructed." Master Fung said, completely dodging her demand for information.

"NO!" She screamed, and a small jet of fire shot out from her hand as she slammed her fist down onto the table angrily. The small burst of fire shot at Omi, who dodged it quickly. The monks slowly edged away from Kimiko, knowing that soon she would lash out. The three knew Kimiko well enough to know that whoever was closest to her was likely to receive the full extend of her element. Raimundo could hardly believe her nerve, but he could understand why she was angry. If Master Fung had stopped him training without telling him why, and made him do extra chores, he would have kicked off too. It wasn't like Master Fung had given her a reason either. _No wonder she's angry_, Rai thought.

"Why don't you want me to train? What have I done wrong?" She demanded. Raimundo, Clay and Omi stared open mouthed, even Dojo, who had appeared in the corner of the doorframe seconds earlier, was staring at Kimiko in shock.

"Kimiko, do not forget your place. Do as you are told." Master Fung said as his expression turned cold and angry. Kimiko was breathing heavily and it was taking all over her focus to stop herself from exploding the place with her element. With her clenched fists tightly, she stormed out of the room, blinking away the tears that were forming in her eyes furious eyes.

Raimundo, Omi and Clay stared in shock as the girl left the room. Master Fung had regained his expressionless composition and turned to the monks. Very calmly, he said,

"I trust you will take care of Kimiko's chores for tonight and then go straight to bed. Do not talk to Kimiko until the morning." He instructed and turned around, leaving the room as swiftly as he had entered.

Still open-mouthed the monks looked at each other.

"Kimiko is very angry." Omi stated after a few moments.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Raimundo said sarcastically.

"You _didn't notice!_" Omi replied, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. Raimundo rolled his eyes and picked up the empty bowls from the table.

"Sarcasm, Omi." Clay said, looking around the room aimlessly.

"That makes no sense." The small boy retorted.

"Man," Began Clay who walked to the sink in the corner of the room and began to wash the dishes. "I've never seen the lil' lady so angry." He handed the bowl to Omi, who dried it with a dishtowel.

"I know. Poor Kim." Raimundo said and he took the plate off Omi and placed the bowl in the cupboard.

"Do you really think Master Fung has an important reason?" Raimundo asked, as waited for Omi to dry the next bowl. Raimundo could not imagine a reason why Master Fung would take Kimiko from training.

The three worked in silence, none of them wanting to say what they really thought. Omi was certain that Master Fung new exactly what he was doing, but he could not help thinking that his reasons were not good enough ones. Clay did not know what he thought; whilst he had a lot of respect for Master Fung, he thought that he was behaving very oddly and being very mysterious. Raimundo wondered what Kimiko was doing as he put away another bowl.


	4. Burning

CHAPTER FOUR: BURNING

Kimiko stormed out of the temple, breathing furiously. Tears were streaming down her face. She made her way to the courtyard, located just outside the temple. Usually, the courtyard was beautiful, but the shadows cast from the building darkened most of the area, leaving only the light of the moon to illuminate the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. However, Kimiko was not in the mood for admiring the beauty of the area; the vast variety of emotions that were bubbling inside her were sure to erupt some time soon, and she needed to be away from people when that happened, not just for safety reasons; but for her pride too. She did not want to show anyone what happened when she lost control. Kimiko usually worked hard to control her emotions, but after the day she had had, she did not really care if she let them loose. She did not ever want to return into the temple. She felt she would die of shame; not only was she forced to be an outsider, but after losing her temper completely, her friends would treat her with much caution, making her feel even more like an outsider.

_Why? _She thought, _I'm just as good as the boys are! _Then her eyes widened. _What if Master Fung thinks I'm weak? What if he thinks I can't do the job anymore?_

She replayed the day's images in her head, trying to think logically, but her strong emotions were taking control of her completely. She screamed furiously and slammed her fist into the wall. As she did so, a large crack appeared in the wall and fire shot from her fist in all directions, setting fire to a nearby bush. Feeling victimised and alone, she dropped to her knees and let out a cry of anguish and a sob. She stared at the tree aimlessly. The fire had started on the lower branches of the bush, but was steadily spreading up towards the top. The leaves shrivelled from the intense heat and blackened. _Look how much damage I do, without even meaning to_ she thought. Kimiko stood up weakly, sniffing and wiping her watery eyes. _Pull yourself together Kimiko. You're being silly. You're a Tohomiko for God's sake!_

With a final sniff, she pulled herself upright and pulled her robes straight. She looked around for the bucket she had used to clean earlier; perhaps she could fill it with water from the fountain in the centre of the courtyard and tip it onto the fire. With a sigh, she realised she had left it inside the Temple. Kimiko turned sharply and headed for the door. She had to return to the Temple some time, but when she did, she would do so with dignity.

As she turned a rustling noise coming from the bushes in the courtyard made her pause. She wheeled around to look for the source of the noise.

"Who's there?" She called into the darkness. Kimiko scanned the bushes, but saw nothing. Listening intently, she looked once again and turned her back to the fountain.

"Kimiko." An icy voice called. Once again she turned around.

"Who's there?" She called again. "Show yourself!" Her command seemed to work, because she heard more rustling.

"Very well." Said the voice, as the dark figure stepped out from the trees. Kimiko felt her jaw drop. "You should put that fire out. It's going to spread quickly." The figure said softly. Standing in front of Kimiko, was none other than the notorious Chase Young.

Kimiko shifted into a defensive stance.

"What are you doing here?" She snarled. Chase smirked, as he often tended to do when somebody asked him a question. The light from the fire reflected from his lizard-like eyes and made him look very threatening. As Kimiko was alone, she knew she did not have a chance if he chose to attack.

"Relax, young monk. I am not here to fight you." Chase held up his hands, showing that he was unarmed. Kimiko raised her eyebrow but did not relax her stance.

"If you aren't planning on fighting me, you're planning on causing some sort of trouble!" Kimiko accused him. She despised Chase, not only was he battling for the Heylin side, but he had also once tricked Omi into joining him. Poor Omi was bound by his word as a Xiaolin Dragon to be loyal to Chase. Kimiko could not imagine how heartbreaking it must be to end up in his position by his own actions.

"Quite the contrary, I wish to make conversation with you, Kimiko." Chase interrupted her thoughts. Kimiko lifted her eyebrow.

"Me?" She asked, "But why?"

Chase ignored her for a moment and there was a brief pause. He turned his head to the left, and looked at the burning plants that Kimiko had forgotten about.

"Are you going to put those out?" He asked, pointing at the burning bushes.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself. You'll do something destructive!" Kimiko said louder than she intended to. Chase raised his eyebrow. He raised his hand, and for one terrible moment Kimiko thought he was going to summon his jungle cats, but, much to her surprise, he snapped his fingers and a large brown appeared over the burning bushes in a cloud of green smoke. The bucket tilted and water was poured over the flames, which sizzled and died away. Kimiko stared at him, rather shocked. The bushes were burnt to crisps. With a smile, Chase walked towards her. She tensed up slightly. Her body screamed at her to attack, but the events of the day had left her sore and tired. She knew if she attacked him, he would defeat her easily.

Chase stopped, just feet away from her.

"It appears your element is powerful when you do not have full control." He said softly, turning his head back towards the burnt bushes. Kimiko grasped exactly what he meant.

"I have full control over my element all the time!" Kimiko almost shouted, and as she did she felt her palms beginning to burn hot. She clenched her fists tightly. Chase made a noise that sounded halfway between a scoff and a sigh.

"Is that so?" He asked, his eyes were gleaming at her, almost as if he could see right inside her mind and read her thoughts. "Is that why the old monk has removed you from training?" Chase sneered. _How does he know! _Kimiko thought.

"I… don't know why." She responded, feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Yes, Kimiko. It is for the reasons you think it is. The old one thinks you have become too weak to continue as a Xiaolin Dragon. Your element has become more powerful than the old monk could ever have anticipated when he first recruited you. He believes you are a danger to the other monks." Chase watched her with an expressionless face. Kimiko opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again.

"You can't know that." Kimiko said under her breath, more to herself than him. Chase raised his eyebrows.

"Think Kimiko. What other reason could there be?" He said, using a softer tone than usual. Despite her hate for the man, Kimiko knew that Chase did tell the truth on occasion, and everything he had told her had made a lot of sense.

"I'm not dangerous!" Kimiko shouted, and her palms burned again, sending sparks flying from her clenched fist. She opened her palm and looked at her hands. _He's right. I _am _dangerous!_

Chase smirked.

"You see? It is just as I said. The old monk has not taught you the full extent of your power. If you do not know your own strength, how can you possibly learn to control it?"

Chase watched as Kimiko began to think. He could see she was really considering what she had said, perhaps even starting to trust him.

Chase jerked his head slightly to the right, peering over Kimiko's shoulder. She whipped around in time to see what he was staring at.

"How nice of you to join us, Dragon of the Wind." Chase said, as an angry Raimundo emerged from the doorway of the Temple. His usually spiky hair had no gel in it and was lying flat upon his head, and he wore blue pyjamas with a picture of someone surfing on them. Kimiko had never seen him looking so different; she was too used to seeing him in his Xiaolin robes. Under different circumstances, she would have laughed.

"What do you want, Chase?" Raimundo snarled. "Come to try and recruit another one of us? Well I've got big news for you, we aren't interested!" With a clap of his hands, Raimundo sent a large whirlwind of air at Chase, who stood, appearing to be unaffected by the strong winds. The only things that indicated the force of the winds were the sheer noise of them, and the fact that Chase's hair was whipping wildly around. Raimundo scowled furiously, as the winds died away.

"Calm yourself. I was just leaving." With that, Chase smiled. "Until next time, Kimiko." Chase snapped his fingers and his figure disappeared into a cloud of green smoke.

"KIMIKO! What were you thinking! The guy was like five feet away from you! He could have kidnapped you, or worse killed you! Are you out of your mind?" Raimundo turned yelled at her, getting very close to her face and throwing his right arm out to the side, as he often did when he was angry.

"Calm down, Rai." She said through gritted teeth. After the events of that day, she would not hesitate to put Raimundo back in his place.

He seemed to recoil slightly, perhaps realising that shouting at her was not the best thing to do.

"You should get some rest." He said finally, after a long an awkward pause.

"Yeah." She said, and turned away from him, making her way to her comfortable bed. As she walked away from him, Raimundo glanced around, only just noticing the burnt bushes. He shook his head, and thought about what he had just witnessed. He had only arrived moments before being spotted by Chase, but from what he could hear, Chase was obviously up to something. He could only hope that when he retold the story to his fellow monks and Master Fung in the morning, they could make more sense of what he had heard than he could.

Kimiko was in her pyjamas now, and as she curled under her thin yellow blanket, she barely concentrated on what she was doing, her thoughts were off with the meaning to Chase's words. They all made sense, but could Chase be trusted with this? Kimiko began to think so.


	5. Jack

CHAPTER FIVE: JACK

Barely believing what he was about to do, Chase braced himself and snapped his fingers, vanishing into green smoke. Before he had time to blink, his home disappeared and he was now standing in dark basement of a sixteen-year-old boy. Inside, was a large black table, which glowed white from the overhead lamp, with complicated drawings of different pieces of machinery. Chase sighed, Wuya was right; when he had fallen from ruling the world, he had fallen hard. If he had seen himself as he was now back then, he would never have believed it.

A door slammed above his head and he heard the annoying whining of the little boy who never failed to irritate him.

"-stupid robot! WHY DON'T YOU WORK?" The door to the basement opened and a scrawny teenager dropped what he was carrying, sending a pile of metal pieces crashing down the stairs loudly.

"Ch-Chase Young!" He gasped and began to run down the stairs, smiling in disbelief. He slipped and fell down the last two steps. _Typical Jack Spicer_. After a few moments of moaning, Jack got up and pulled his hands up to his face, like a teenage girl would do upon meeting her favourite celebrity. Chase was surprised he had not screamed yet.

"W-what are you doing here… in my basement? In my house!" He gibbered excitedly, almost tripping over his own feet in his rush to greet the man he had worshipped for so many years.

"I want to make you a deal, Spicer." Chase said simply. He did not want to stay any longer than he had to. The boy irritated him in every aspect. Jack Spicer almost fell over for shock.

"You want to make a deal? With me?" Jack trembled.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" He cried and flung his scrawny arms over Chase's shoulders. Through clenched teeth, Chase growled.

"Get. Off. Me. Now." He spat and Jack recoiled sheepishly.

"Sorry!" Jack Spicer said. "So… uh… wow… now that you're here, how can I help you, Chase?" His voice was unusually high pitched. _How pathetic_, Chase thought.

"I want you to build something for me." Chase said and Jack was swept his arms across the table, shifting old blueprints and pieces of paper out of the way. He pulled out a piece of paper and looked up,

"What do you want me to make?" Jack asked, his hand was shaking. Chase gritted his teeth.

"An army of Robot Warriors." As soon as Chase started talking, Jack began scribbling furiously on his piece of paper. After jotting down a few notes, Jack looked up.

"What do you want them to do?" He asked, still smiling like a child on Christmas morning.

"I want them to be skilled enough to preoccupy the Xiaolin Warriors whilst I take care of other matters." Chase said, staring at the boy.

"Wow. So evil!" Jack almost squealed. Jack wondered what someone like Chase would want with an army of robots, but whatever Chase wanted them for, Jack was thrilled to help.

"Do we have a deal, Spicer?" Chase asked simply.

"Yes, I'll do it Chase!" Jack scribbled down a few more things.

"Good. I want them built fast. The time is almost upon us." Chase said and he prepared himself to leave.

"Wait!" Jack called to him. "I have a question!"

Chase looked at the pale boy and sighed. "Yes?"

"Why don't you just send in the jungle cats to fight them? The Xiaolin losers would never win against an army of them."

Chase smiled. He had not expected Jack to be smart enough to ask this question.

"I have my reasons, Spicer." Chase replied. Jack nodded and began to scribble down more notes.

Chase raised his hand and prepared to snap his fingers.

"One more thing! When do you want it by, Chase?" Jack said, not looking up from his paper. He was so close to the paper, his nose was touching it. Jack Spicer looked up to see Chase gone. Jack could no believe his luck, he was building something for his hero. Chase Young needed _his_ help. It was like a dream come true for Jack.

With a joyous laugh, he set to work.


	6. Storytime

CHAPTER SIX: STORYTIME

"I'm telling you guys. Whatever Chase was saying, Kimiko was just stood there, listening. She didn't even try and run for help or anything." Raimundo finished seriously. He had awoken extra early this morning, before dawn, and awoken Master Fung, along with Omi, Clay and Dojo to tell them the full story of the events the night before. He feared that if he retold the events in front of Kimiko, she might be angry with him. An angry Kimiko usually meant an accidental burn from her, particularly as she was so angry at the moment.

The monks were huddled around the dining table and listened to the story. Master Fung had listened intently, taking everything on board, whilst Clay's mouth hung open. Omi sat silently, not wanting to believe what he had just heard. Dojo was resting on Clay's shoulder; his expression was a mixture between anger and shock.

"For all we know, she could have. Chase Young is a very skilled warrior and most powerful in battles." Omi commented, he knew exactly how manipulative and persuasive Chase could be. From the way Raimundo had described it, Chase was definitely up to something, and Omi only hoped that it was not what he feared it was; an attempt to recruit Kimiko.

Master Fung sighed and stood up. His expression was unreadable. He looked at Raimundo.

"Go and get Kimiko and bring her here, young monk." Master Fung said calmly. Raimundo stood up, nodded and left the room.

_Oh God!_ He thought, _Kim is going to kill me! I've told Master Fung, she's going to murder me! I'm a dead man! He's going to punish her even more. Oh no! _Raimundo was panicking and his heart was racing in his chest. Kimiko was already pushed to the edge of breaking point and another argument with Master Fung was sure to push her over the edge. She was dangerous when she was angry because she often lost control of her element. If she lost control again, she could go as far as to destroy the temple, not to mention accidentally kill one of them. Raimundo gulped. He peeked inside the tiny area that was her bedroom, expecting to see her sleeping soundly. But she was gone; her room was empty and there was no sign of where she could be. For a moment, he thought she might have run away and deserted the temple, but then he decided to comb the place for her first. He should probably check everywhere before he ran and told Master Fung she was gone. He half expected her to be gone, Raimundo would have done, placed in her shoes.

As Raimundo walked the many corridors and rooms of the temples, he found nothing. He was almost ready to give in. With a fleeting look around the vault room, he sighed in annoyance. Then he had an idea; the bathrooms! He had not checked in there. Almost running, Raimundo fled to the bathroom and tapped his knuckles on the door.

"Kimiko? Are you in there?" He asked and crossed his fingers; hoping for a reply.

Kimiko opened her eyes slowly. The dark room told her that it was still night time and she felt cold with only a thin, yellow blanket covering her. She closed her eyes again, hoping to drift back off into some sort of sleep. She pulled her knees against her chest, but something did not feel quite right. She opened her eyes once again and her body froze. A large shadowy figure was standing over her.

She flew into an upright standing position and lowered her back against the wall.

The tall, dark figure whispered a shushing noise at her. Instinctively, she snapped her fingers and a small flame appeared over her hand, lighting up the shadowy room. She stared ahead, and recognised the intruder immediately.

"Chase?" Kimiko whispered, as Chase stepped forward. Her body tensed up and she could not move. Her instincts told her to scream for help, but in her vulnerable state, she doubted if she could even manage to get in a good hit before he killed her, which he surely would if she tried to scream.

He reached out his hand and with an expressionless face, touched her forehead with two fingers. Kimiko felt her eyes slide upwards and her knees give way. She hit the floor with a dull thud.

Kimiko jerked awake, gasping for breath. Her chest heaved as she flew upright. Once she had established that she was in her bedroom at the temple, she took a few steady breaths. The light dim light pouring in through her tiny window told her that it was almost dawn. She touched her forehead where she remembered Chase had touched her; it felt warm, just as it always did. _It was just a dream._ She told herself, _just a dream._ Kimiko knew that she would have more work to do today, so she decided to take an early bath to relax herself. She needed to be calm for when Master Fung informed her of her duties for the day.

Kimiko moved around the temple quietly. She did not want to speak to any of her friends, nor Master Fung. Kimiko would have to face the consequences of her actions sooner or later; she would much rather it be later. She ran herself a deep, warm bath in the temple's bath tub and lit a few candles. She undressed herself and climbed in; it felt good to be able to relax her body at last.

Her thoughts wandered back to the dream and the events of the night before. She began to wonder if Chase knew Kimiko would be thinking about it as much as she was, but then again, he probably did. Kimiko shook her head, as if doing so would divert her thoughts. She attempted to enjoy her bath while she could, but she found her mind drifting back to Chase's words.

As she climbed out of the bath, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Kimiko. Are you in there?" Raimundo called through the door.

"What do you want, Raimundo?" She said back, not really want to speak to any of the other monks, least of all Raimundo.

"You have to come with me, Kim. Master Fung wants to speak to you." Raimundo said. "It's important, so hurry."

"What's it about?" Kimiko called through the door, wrapping a towel around her body. She wondered what Master Fung could possibly want other than to victimise or punish her further, particularly after last night's events. She was not going to be humiliated by Master Fung for not fighting. He was the one who had taken her out of training and made her work all day! How could he expect her to be able to fight after that? Kimiko felt her anger beginning to show slightly; her palms were warming up considerably. She took a calming breath, and then remembered Raimundo had not answered her question.

"Well?" She asked, after Raimundo was silent for a while. She hoped he was still there.

"Just hurry up." He said finally. Kimiko sighed and climbed into her Xiaolin robes. If she was going to be punished further, she would do it with dignity. She swore to herself, that no matter what happened this time, she would not lose her temper again.

"Kim. Hurry up!" Raimundo knocked on the door again.

"Coming." She said, and looked in the mirror. _Let's do this._ She opened the bathroom door and followed Raimundo.

Kimiko followed Raimundo into the dining room and saw Master Fung watching her. He, Omi, Clay and Dojo were all sat around the dining table, except Dojo was perched on Clay's shoulder. All eyes were on her as she froze, not wanting to take her place at the table, not just yet.

"Kimiko. Please sit down." Master Fung said calmly. Kimiko did as she was told and sat at the dining table with her fellow monks.

"Are you comfortable?" Master Fung asked her. She nodded. Kimiko thought that if she spoke, she might wind up getting angry again. She could not afford for this to happen again.

"Good." He said. Kimiko could have sworn she saw the corners of his mouth turn slightly. _Is he smiling?_

"I am glad you are comfortable, Kimiko," He paused for a moment, while Omi's eyes were fixed upon Kimiko's face. Clay was staring at Master Fung, whilst Raimundo's eyes were darting furiously at each of them.

"Because I am going to tell you everything now." Kimiko looked up at him hopefully, her eyes gleamed.

"Shall I begin?" Master Fung asked.

Kimiko nodded.


	7. Revelations

CHAPTER SEVEN: REVELATIONS

Master Fung was sitting graciously on the opposite side to Kimiko. To her right was Clay, with a frightened-looking Dojo perched upon his shoulder like a parrot. To her left were Omi and Raimundo. They all looked rather intrigued with Kimiko at the moment. She could not understand why.

Master Fung was clearly struggling to find the right words; he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. With a look at the other monks, he nodded to them,

"My apologies, Omi, Clay, Raimundo and Dojo, but I must speak with Kimiko alone. I will leave it to Kimiko to speak to you all later."

Omi's face was a picture. The moment Master Fung had spoken, he pulled his small features into a grumpy expression a spoilt child might use when they were denied something they wanted.

But, all three of the boys left the table respectfully. Each of them shot a look at Kimiko, who pretended not to notice their eyes flickering towards her. She was getting rather irritated by constant presence of eyes upon her.

Kimiko said nothing, but only nodded to the boys to thank them for leaving them alone. She was glad that if Master Fung really did think she was weak, at least he asked the others to leave first, before he sent her home. _What am I going to tell Daddy? He was so proud of me. How could I have let him down like this?_ With a sigh, Kimiko bowed her head, and waited for when Master Fung spoke.

Master Fung looked upon the small girl in front of him and smiled apologetically at her. He began to speak solemnly.

"First of all, Kimiko. I would like to apologise dearly for my actions. I should not have removed you from training without giving you a reason, as I see now that perhaps I have caused unnecessary damage which could have been prevented." Kimiko's jaw dropped. The last thing she had expected was an apology, but even so, he still was not making sense.

"You see, Kimiko. I have been trying to protect you for the past few months against a great evil. I am sure you know of what I speak?" Master Fung looked at her expectantly.

"Chase Young." She stated. Then she pulled a confused face as she really deciphered what he had said, "Protect me?"

"Yes, Kimiko. You are not aware of the fact that Chase Young has been watching the Xiaolin Temple for many months now, and I believe he has been watching one monk in particular." Kimiko raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Your element is the most valuable to Chase Young, and as you should well know by now, Chase will stop at nothing until he obtains it from you." There was a slight pause, as Master Fung lowered his head shamefully, "I knew Chase Young was watching the Temple, but I was unsure of if he had made his decision, which is why I waited for such a long time before I acted; perhaps in doing this I have only intensified the severity of the situation."

"Master Fung? What do you mean when you say 'decision' exactly?" Kimiko asked, still a little confused. Master Fung raised his eyebrows.

"Have you not guessed yet?" He asked, looking slightly shocked.

"No…." Kimiko responded. _I'm definitely missing something here. _She tried to fit all of the information in her head. Considering she had just found out that her hated enemy had been spying on her for months, she was surprisingly calm.

"So you aren't going to send me away?" Kimiko asked, getting sidetracked. She had only just realised that Master Fung was not trying to force her to go home. It was the only thing she could focus on.

"Of course not. That would make it much easier for Chase Young to recruit you."

"YES!" She cried. Without fully realising what she was doing, she jumped up and smiled, throwing her arms around him. She hugged the old monk tightly, who patted the girl awkwardly on her back. When she did not release him after a few seconds, he gently pulled her off him and cleared his throat.

"Sorry." She mumbled. _How embarrassing. _She blushed and sat back down. Master Fung continued, looking slightly awkward now.

"Kimiko, after you and the other Xiaolin Warriors defeated Chase Young and won Omi's freedom, Chase stayed very quiet for many months. I believe it was in this time when he first decided upon this plan. I can only speculate that he plans to recruit another Xiaolin Warrior to rule by his side. For a while, I assumed he would try to force Omi to rejoin him, as Chase Young was certain that Omi was 'The Chosen One', but clearly, after winning his freedom, Omi was obviously not truly evil. And that is why, Kimiko Tohomiko, Chase Young has visited you. I believe he intends to manipulate you or trick you into joining him but you must resist at all costs. When I realised that Chase was considering you, I removed you from training, in the hope that he would not get to see what a powerful warrior you have become." Master Fung began to speak very quickly.

"If Chase Young gains control of your element, Kimiko, the whole world and its inhabitants will be forced to bow down before him. You must not allow this to happen. I expect he will visit you again soon, in which time he will no doubt try to persuade you again."

"Again?" Kimiko asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes." Master Fung said, looking slightly confused.

"He hasn't asked me to join his side at all, or tried persuading me, I mean, if he has, I haven't noticed it."

Master Fung raised his eyebrows.

"Very well, Kimiko. It is true that I have only heard Raimundo's version of the events. Tell me everything you can remember about the events last night."

After a short but detailed summary, Master Fung fell silent for a moment.

"If he did not ask you to join him, then I am at a loss for the reason of the visit last night. Perhaps he just wanted to make you consider all that he had said, which I trust you have thought about a lot? Or maybe it was to see if I had, in fact, sent you away, as you believed I would." Master Fung smiled at her.

Kimiko nodded, and then summarised.

"So, Chase Young wants to rule the world again, but is too weak to do it alone. So, he wants me to help him with my element so that he can become more powerful. You took me out of training to stop him watching me so much when you thought he was going to choose me, but you acted too late, and now he's made his mind up and he's trying to get to me?"

"Nicely summarised." Master Fung said. "But Kimiko, I am not sure how much of the information I have told you, you would wish to share with your friends. Although I am sure by now they have found some method of listening in." There was a banging noise from the behind the closed door, as though something had just fallen over.

"Ouch!" Omi cried. They heard Raimundo shushing him, and then silence.

"You can come in guys." Kimiko called to the closed door. Sure enough, the door swung open, and the three boys walked into the room, smiling sheepishly. Master Fung stood up, neither looking angry nor upset at the boys' disobedience.

"Now all of you are here." Master Fung addressed them all. "In the next few days, I expect Chase will visit Kimiko again at some point. We must _not_ allow this to happen. You," He addressed the boys, "must do your duties as Xiaolin Warriors and not allow Chase to get to Kimiko. If he attacks the temple, you must fight, to the death if you have to."

Kimiko shook her head.

"No way. No one's fighting Chase, just to stop him from talking to me, if it means people are going to die." She said seriously, glancing at the faces around her. She would not allow them to make any kind of sacrifice for her. It was not in her nature to run away from anything whilst someone else did the work.

"Kimiko, Master Fung is right." Omi said, "I have been in this position and it is most unfair, but you must try at all costs to avoid him. The three of us will be able to overpower Chase Young if we work together." Raimundo and Clay nodded.

"What about those jungle cats?" Kimiko asked smartly. At this, the boys exchanged worried glances, but Clay seemed to catch on first. With a fake smile of reassurance, he put his hand on Kimiko's shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure we can take em', Kimiko. You gotta stay outta the way on this one, lil' lady. I mean, let's face it, Chase is bad news and you can't be getting' yourself trapped like poor Omi did." Clay said. Kimiko knew that her friends always struggled against Chase's jungle cats. Just a few of them would be enough to overpower them; they were much stronger than just ordinary lions and tigers.

"Nope. I'm sorry, guys, but I'm not letting you take all the risks. I want to have some fun too." Kimiko said, looking at Master Fung.

Master Fung frowned,

"Kimiko. I do not think you understand the severity of the situation. If Chase Young were to have you at his disposal, it could mean death for us all, not to mention millions of other people."

Kimiko laughed whilst the other dragons stared at her. They could not understand why she was not treating this seriously.

"Calm down, Master Fung. I'm not going to go to the dark side. I'm sitting firmly on the Xiaolin side."

"Kim, you don't get it." Raimundo shook her shoulder and she stopped smiling. "Don't you remember what happened to Omi? Chase tricked him into joining him and he was bound by his own word. If you swear your loyalty to him, there will be nothing we can do to get you out of it, apart from challenge another showdown."

"But, I'm not going to be tricked." Kimiko said confidently. With a frustrated sigh, Raimundo shook her shoulder again.

"What if it does happen? What if… I don't know… he threatens to kill Dojo and use him in that soup he drinks to keep him immortal if you don't join him?" Raimundo pointed at the scaly green dragon on Clay's hat. At the sound of his name, Dojo began to tremble.

"I… hadn't thought of that." She admitted. After a pause she spoke again, "Okay, fine. But if _anyone_, and I mean _anyone_, gets hurt, I'm joining in the fight." Kimiko said firmly.

" I really don't think that's a good idea, Kim." Raimundo said, but knowing Kimiko, she wasn't likely to pay the slightest bit of thought to what he thought about a subject when her mind was already set; she was the most stubborn person he knew.

"Well then, monks. You will spend the day preparing for an attack. We do not even know if an attack of such sort will come, nor do we know what to expect, so I suggest you all be on your guard. Chase will come again soon, and when he does, we must be prepared." Master Fung informed the four warriors.

The four warriors nodded determinedly and left the room, Omi's voice rang through the corridors loudly,

"Chase Young will be no match for me now! I will use my Tornado Water Strike, then jump to the left, and strike him from behind. Then I will…." Omi's voice died away as the monks continued down the long corridor.

"I must keep a close eye on Kimiko." Master Fung muttered to himself. As he paced the dining room, he wondered if he had made the right choice in telling her. She would be more cautious now she knew, but she was likely to do something rash under the pressure of it all. Master Fung only hoped that her friends would help her to bear her heavy load.

Chase Young was sat on the solitary throne in his home. He was thinking of his conversation with Kimiko two days earlier. It seemed she had trusted him. Yet the dragon of the wind had stepped in and ruined it all at the last moment. _No matter, _thought Chase, _when the time is right, I will destroy them all._ The old monk would surely have revealed what he had known to Kimiko by now. The Xiaolin warriors had not trained at all yesterday. Chase had spent the day on the mountainside yet again, only to see nothing at all. He knew that they were most likely waiting for an attack. He smirked, lost in his own thoughts, when a jungle cat came dashing up to him with a large group of jungle cats behind it. One was carrying something. Chase only realised that this 'something' was a person when it waved at him.

"Spicer." Chase said, as a way of greeting him.

"Hi Chase!" The small bundle of black and red, which was dangling from the lion's mouth waved and smiled at Chase. The jungle cat dropped him at Chase's feet.

"I've finished your robots!" Jack gibbered excitedly. He looked a mess. His hair was even messier than usual, and his goggles were filthy. His black clothes were stained and smelly, and Chase could see that there were deep blue marks under his eyes.

"Really? That was much sooner than I expected." Chase said, rather impressed at Jack's speed. It had only been two days since he had asked Jack to build him a robotic army to occupy the dragons whilst he got to Kimiko. _It shouldn't take long_, Chase thought.

"You can always rely on me, Chase! I stayed up for two days making you these guys. I'll call them in!" Jack pressed a button on his watch and grinned widely. From the door walked in well over five hundred robotic warriors. Chase was interested to see that Jack had engraved each of their chest plates in their armour set with his initials. If Chase didn't despise Jack so much, he would have been flattered.

Their heads were similar to the design of Jack's famous 'Jackbots', but their bodies were coated in a black metal. They had legs, unlike Jack's Jackbots, and all wielded a shiny, black sword.

Chase was quite surprised. Not only had Jack been fast, he appeared to have been efficient. Chase looked at them all with clear authority in his voice.

"Robot Warriors!" He called. The robots turned and addressed him like soldiers would do to their commander in an army.

"You will do as I command." Chase said to them. Their red eyes flashed as they chanted "Yes, sir!" back to him. Chase pulled his sword from his belt and pointed at one of the robots.

"You there, come. Fight me." Chase told the robot. The robot attacked, but before even striking a blow, the robot was lying on the floor, completely cleaved in two by Chase's sword.

"They will suffice." He told Jack, who was still smiling. The robots would not be too difficult for the Xiaolin dragons to defeat, but that was enough for what Chase had planned.

"Thanks, Spicer." Chase mumbled quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear.

"Anytime, Chase. You name it, I'll do it." Jack put his thumbs up at him. The jungle cat behind Jack growled. _At least I'm not the only one he irritates._

"You can go now, Spicer." Chase said icily as sat back down in his lonely throne.

"Bye Chase! Anything you need, just call!" Jack gibbered as the jungle cat roughly dragged him away by his muddy, black boots.

Chase Young had noticed that Wuya did not accompany Jack on his visit. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to irritate Chase. _She must have found some other fool to fetch her Shen Gong Wu, _Chase thought, not that he really cared where she was.

He glanced at the warriors who stood; ready to follow him into battle at the Xiaolin temple.

"Come, Robot warriors. We have an attack to administer to the Xiaolin monks." With a nasty smile, Chase smiled. His plan was going perfectly so far.

He raised his hands above his army and teleported them directly outside the Xiaolin Temple. It was nighttime and no light could be seen from the inside the Temple. Chase assumed they were either sleeping or waiting for him. He silently raised his arm to ready his warriors, much like a general, and, after a moment, thrust his extended arm forwards. The robotic warriors charged forwards into the temple silently with their weapons at the ready.


	8. Attack

CHAPTER EIGHT: ATTACK

Raimundo and Clay were bored. The monks had decided to take it in turns to keep watches from inside the temple, so that they would be prepared for if an attack came, which, Master Fung seemed to think that it would at some point. Master Fung seemed to think that the attack would come from the courtyard, and so they had been positioned to watch over it. Kimiko and Omi had watched all day, and were getting some sleep whilst Raimundo and Clay were in the middle of taking the night watch. Dojo was to serve as the messenger, should an attack come, he would move and alert the other Dragons. He was snoring quietly in the corner, curled up into a small, green ball. Raimundo was sat on a bench, next to a tiny window inside the temple. From here, he checked the view of the courtyard. Clay was peering out of another window on the opposite side of the room. Raimundo let out a sigh of boredom.

"Man, we've been watching for two days. Being trapped in this room all day and night is killing me. I've barely slept and I'm hungry!" Raimundo complained quietly.

"I hear ya, partner. But we gotta keep a look out. Master Fung reckons Chase is gonna attack so someone's gotta be watchin' in case he does." Clay whispered back. Raimundo already knew all this, but his rumbling stomach kept reminding him that keeping himself well fed was just as much of a chore as watching the same scene through a tiny window all night. With a sigh, Raimundo scanned the dimly lit courtyard, only to find it, as expected. Empty.

Then, both of the dragons froze as they heard the noise of movement coming from the forest beyond the Temple. They both felt their jaws drop, as front the forest beyond, poured a huge number of robotic warriors. Raimundo did not notice the initials carved upon their shiny chests.

"Is Jack attacking us?" Raimundo whispered to Clay.

"I don't think it can be Chase, partner. He's got his jungle cats." The cowboy replied in a hushed tone. As the robots progressed closer to the opening of the courtyard, Clay poked the sleeping dragon.

"Dojo!" He hissed. "Partner! Get up, we've got company."

The dragon mumbled sleepily.

"W-what?" Dojo lifted his head and sensed the desperation in Clay's tone.

"Jack is attacking us with an army of robot warriors!" Clay whispered. "Go get Omi and Kimiko. Quick, partner!"

"Oh right."

The green dragon disappeared into the dark corridor as he rushed away, as fast as he could.

"Get ready." Raimundo whispered and got ready to fight. "3…2…1… NOW!"

Raimundo and Clay charged out of the temple. Raimundo was carrying his favourite Shen Gong Wu, The Sword of the Storm. With a loud yell, he activated the Shen Gong Wu, and directed a large whirlwind of air at the approaching robots, which were only feet away from him. A few of them were affected by the strong winds, and broke apart, crumbling into a heap on the floor.

Robots poured into the courtyard, and soon the empty courtyard was filled with black robots. Raimundo had lost sight of Clay, but could hear his yells from somewhere. The robots had him surrounded. Raimundo now knew he was going to have to rely on more than just his element to help him now. The robots swung their swords at him threateningly.

"Clay!" Raimundo yelled to his friend, hoping that Clay could hear him. There was a loud bang and long lines of robots were smashed into pieces. Clay appeared in the corner of Raimundo's eye, and was currently smashing two robots together. The noise was deafening and the two dragons were forced to rely on their instincts to focus in the mayhem.

Clay saw a little figure darting between some robots, each of them crumpled into pieces as he touched them.

"Omi!" Clay shouted at the tiny figure. "Where's Kimiko?"

Omi used his element to blast a few robots that had drawn too close backwards.

"I do not know!" Omi shouted back over the deafening roar.

Clay growled angrily and charged. More robots were appearing from the forest.

Dojo crawled along the floor as fast as his two legs could carry him. He swiftly entered Omi's room and hopped up on his bed.

"Omi! Jack is attacking! He's got an army of warrior robots!" Dojo hissed at the sleeping bundle. The bundle, which was wrapped in a thin yellow blanket, stirred and leapt up immediately out of bed. Almost instantly he took a defensive stance, as though he thought he was being attacked.

"Jack… Spicer?" Omi asked uncertainly, after realising that he was safe, for the time being at least. It was dark in his room, but Dojo could tell Omi was confused.

"Yeah. I know, I don't get it either." Dojo began to crawl out of the door, "But hurry! Raimundo and Clay need your help! They're in courtyard!"

With that, Omi charged out of the room.

A loud crash awoke Kimiko from her sleep. With a gasp, she rushed out of her room and into the corridor. From the tiny window, she saw something that made her heart race. Black robotic warriors of Jack's design had overrun the Temple's courtyard, and more were pouring in by the second.

Kimiko began to run to help her friends, but then stopped. She had promised her fellow dragons not to interfere should an attack arrive, but this was not Chase attacking. Those were Jack's robots. However, Kimiko noted that they were not Jack's usual Jackbots, but they were black with initials carved upon them, 'C.Y.'.

"Chase Young." She whispered to herself. _He's here! _She ran to help her friends again, then stopped, remembering her promise to stay out of the way. But those were her friends, fighting just to keep her safe. Kimiko hated being left out of fighting, even if it meant that she could prevent a great evil. It made her feel powerless and needy.

From the window, Kimiko could see none of her friends, although their occasional shouts let her know that they were safe, for the moment. _I'll wait, and if one of them gets hurt, I'll step in, _Kimiko told herself. She stood at the window for a long time, watching more robots pour into the courtyard, and many fall at the hands of her friends. She could tell they were harder to kill than Jackbots, which were broken easily, and they had large numbers. The three fighting Xiaolin Dragons were an even match for the total number of the robots.

There was a dull thud, which came from her behind her. Slowly, she turned around and looked into her dark bedroom. Inside, stood a shadowy figure. A figure she recognised instantly.

"Hello, Chase." She said in a soft voice and the tall man standing in the centre of her bedroom smiled.

"Kimiko." Chase greeted her and stepped forwards to look out of the window. She moved out of his way, wondering if she could possibly make a run for it.

"Do not even try to run." Chase told her sternly, almost as if he had read her thoughts. He walked with his hands behind his back and looked perceptively out of the window. "The other dragons are doing well against the army. I suppose you are not fighting to prevent precisely this?" He asked, to which she did not reply.

_What the hell do I do now? _She asked herself. Kimiko moved backwards slightly, hoping to choose her time right, and make a dash for the doorway. If she was lucky, she could make it into the main room of the temple and then out into the courtyard. Perhaps she could lose Chase in the sea of black warriors.

"I'll still be able to find you." Chase told her, not taking his eyes from the window. There was a loud bang from outside.

"How are you doing-?" Kimiko began, but was cut off.

"I will tell you when the time is right." Chase turned on her now, and she stopped edging backwards. There was a significant difference between how far away she had been seconds ago to now, but she hoped he would not noticed. He appeared not to have.

"I assume you know why I'm here now?" He asked her, not taking his eyes off her. She was forced to stand still and attempted look innocent. Kimiko nodded.

"Very well then. I will ask you before I use my…" He paused for a moment, and then with a nasty smile, he continued. "_Other_ methods. Will you join me on the Heylin side?" Chase did not really expect her to agree, but he thought he had better ask her before he resorted to his preferred methods.

"No way." Kimiko told him sternly. Deciding the time was right, she ran for the door. She ran into something headfirst, which was blocking her way. Kimiko was thrown backwards a few feet and hit the cold, stone floor hard. With a low groan, she pulled herself upright. Chase Young was standing in the doorway, looking rather amused.

"Then that is your choice under these circumstances." Chase said. He walked towards her purposefully, with a look of determination on his face. Kimiko pulled herself off the floor and ran for the closest doorway, which happened to be Clay's bedroom. As she grabbed the handle, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. Instantly, Kimiko's surroundings changed. She was no longer inside the corridor. In fact, she was not even in the Temple.

Chase had taken her to the mountainside he had used so often to spy on the Xiaolin Warriors.

"You can see your friends better from here, Kimiko. They fight well against my army." Kimiko was confused. The sudden change to all of her senses had left her extremely disoriented and she squinted at the blurry figures darting around in the Temple below her.

"Your army?" She asked, trying to focus her vision. As she blinked, the tiny figures stood out in the sea of black. Kimiko did not want to guess at how many warriors there were in the Temple's courtyard now. There must have been hundreds. She could see her friends destroying many each time they attacked. _Even if they are outnumbered, at least they won't get hurt. _At least, that was what she was telling herself.

"Why do you have an army of robots and not your jungle cats?" Kimiko asked curiously, forgetting that she was not even supposed to be near the man, let alone asking him questions about his choice of warriors, who were attacking her friends as they made conversation.

"I thought I would use them as a distraction so that I might have a longer time to speak with you. The jungle cats would easily overpower your friends, which is why I intend to use them for my attack tomorrow." Chase answered, smirking slightly.

"You're attacking tomorrow?" Kimiko felt her heart begin to thud in her chest. Even five of Chase's warriors alone were difficult for the Xiaolin dragons to defeat. How would they survive against a whole army, when one of the dragons was missing too? Kimiko looked at the tall figure next to her and tried to put the words together inside her head. For some reason, she could not seem to grasp the seriousness of her situation. Up here, she had no means of escape whatsoever; Chase could kill her where she stood. She knew she was no match for him, not that she would ever admit it to anyone.

"You can't attack again tomorrow! Your jungle cats will defeat them!" Kimiko yelled at Chase, who turned to her.

"I plan to attack, but I shall call the attack off… _If _you agree to my proposition." With a nasty smile, Chase looked down upon the face of the panic-stricken girl in front of him.

"No! You can't. I won't." She rambled, holding her head and walking around in circles. Her heart told her to tell him to back the hell off, as she would have usually done, but her head told her to think. If she said yes, the whole world could be destroyed, but if she said no, the only people who could ever put a stop to Chase would probably be killed; even with the help of Shen Gong Wu.

"No… I can't…." Kimiko repeated.

"Fine then, that is your choice. I will be back again, same time tomorrow. You had better warn your friends, there will be _very_ heavy casualties." Chase smirked again.

"If you change your mind, let me know. I'll be waiting." Chase Young snapped his fingers and disappeared into a cloud of green smoke, leaving Kimiko alone on the mountainside, where she crumbled onto the floor into a sobbing heap.

Her heart and her head were fighting with each other, trying to figure out the best option, but either way, Kimiko was probably going to cause someone she loved to die. Whether it was Omi, Clay, Dojo, Master Fung, Raimundo, her family or anyone else she had ever cared about, someone was going to feel the consequences of her impossible decision.

Feeling like she wanted to shrivel up and die, she pulled her knees close to her chest and wept, feeling more alone than she ever thought she could.

Omi kicked the last standing warrior and sent him into a broken heap of metallic parts, which clattered to the floor.

Raimundo, Clay and Omi panted and gasped for breath. They were all exhausted. They had done well against the robots. Omi had obtained a tiny slash on his cheek where one of the robots had caught him with his blade. Raimundo was rubbing his shoulder gently, having taken a heavy blow to his shoulder from the handle of one of the robots' swords. Clay had a large gash across his chest, it was a good thing it was only a shallow cut.

"Guys…" Raimundo panted… "We gotta…. Go check… on… Kim…." He gasped for air and forced his body into the temple. The other two dragons followed behind him, slowly taking steadier breaths. Raimundo looked in Kimiko's bedroom, only to find it empty, with the door left wide open. There were no signs of a struggle or anything to suggest otherwise.

"She is not here?" Omi asked from behind Clay.

"Doesn't look like it, lil' guy." Clay said.

"So where is she?" Raimundo wondered. "Come on guys, we'd better find out where she is." With a heavy sigh, the monks split up, and began their pointless search. None of them could ever have imagined that at that moment in time, she was lying on the mountainside overlooking the Temple, curled up in a ball.


	9. Connections

CHAPTER NINE: CONNECTIONS

Raimundo sighed. He had looked all over the Xiaolin Temple, along with the other monks for Kimiko, but there was no sign of her. After searching every nook and cranny in the Temple, the only solution, which seemed remotely possible, was kidnap. Kimiko never ran away from anything. The monks had hardly spoken to one another; all three of them were exhausted after looking all night.

"You guys, I don't think she's here anymore." Raimundo said to the other monks, after they all collapsed onto the Xiaolin Temple's chairs. Clay leant back against the chair.

"I reckon you're right about that, partner." He grumbled sleepily, and closed his eyes to rest.

"So, you think Jack's got her?" Raimundo asked, trying to sound casual. If Jack was stupid enough to build a robotic army and send it to the Xiaolin Temple, maybe he was stupid enough to kidnap Kimiko. Raimundo did not want to think about what Jack could do to her with so much power over her. She was only small for her age after all, but, as Raimundo knew well, size is no guarantee of power. Kimiko was no exception.

"Rai, didn't you see the robot's chest plates?" Dojo had appeared from Clay's hat.

"No, why?"

"They had 'C.Y.' on them." Clay said.

"Oh. Right. So you think _he's _got her?" Raimundo asked, trying to hide his anger. If Kimiko turned evil, there was no way Raimundo could take her down. Not even if he wanted to. He could never kill a friend, especially since she was a girl.

"It is possible." Omi said. He had been surprisingly quiet. Perhaps he was afraid for Kimiko. After all, Omi had experienced the worries of being trapped by Chase himself. He knew how it felt.

"What do we do?" Raimundo asked. No one seemed to be able to answer him. The long and extremely uncomfortable pause seemed to last forever.

"I believe we should split up and search for Kimiko in different places." Omi said at last. "I will take Dojo and fly to Kimiko's home, perhaps she has returned. Clay, you could stay here in case she returns. Raimundo, you could search in the surrounding areas."

Raimundo and Clay nodded; nothing else seemed to make much sense to them. It was worth a shot, at least.

Kimiko opened her sore eyes. She had not realised she had fallen asleep. She was lying on a cold and flat surface that definitely was not her bed at the Xiaolin Temple. With a shudder, she realised she had fallen asleep on the mountainside; her body was stiff from sleeping on the hard rock. Kimiko opened her eyes, which were tender and sore from the tears the night before, and saw that it was daylight.

She did not stir for a long time. Her body was sore and she knew she would have to move some time soon, but she had no energy. It was like all that had once motivated her had left her. Kimiko managed to pull herself up onto her feet. She staggered around dizzily, blinking so she could adjust her eyes to the harsh light, which was beaming down upon her. Kimiko looked over the edge of the mountainside; it was a long way down. The height alone made her feel dizzy. She was not usually afraid of heights.

Kimiko stood on the mountainside, close to the edge. She wondered, if she were to jump, would her impossible decision be resolved? If Kimiko took her own life, would everything be as it should be? As Kimiko wondered if she should take the plunge and jump, a wave of cold swept over her.

"Kimiko….." Chase's voice whispered in her head. "Do not think jumping will resolve this."

"I have to." She spoke aloud, wondering if she could actually hear his voice, or it was just her own mind. _I'm going crazy. I've cracked. I'm going to end up in a mental hospital. _Her mind was racing with different thoughts and she took a single step closer to the edge. _It's not long now. I just have to take a few more steps. _Kimiko was only inches from the edge of the cliff. If she fell, she would certainly fall to her death.

"Then go ahead, but remember Kimiko, if you jump, you are giving up. I was under the impression that you were strong, I never thought you were weak. Not once." The sly voice of Chase Young echoed through her head. Kimiko blinked and a tear rolled down her face.

"I'm not weak…" She whispered, mostly to herself.

"Then prove it." He hissed into her ears over and over again, until the noise of his icy voice filled her head and drowned out her thoughts. Kimiko wanted it all to end. She purposely raised her leg and fell forwards, straight off the edge of the cliff.

"Foolish monk." She heard his voice again as the ground hurtled towards her. She closed her eyes tightly. _You've done it._ The wind whistled loudly in her ears, as she waited for her small body to crash with the floor, killing her instantly. The floor was fast approaching and she felt a final tear leak from her eye. _At least it's painless. No one gets hurt._

"KIMIKO!" She heard someone shouting to her and then she hit something. It was not painful, just uncomfortable. Then….

Nothing…

Someone was carrying her in his or her arms, lifting her easily. She felt the person begin to move slightly.

"I must admit, I thought you would step down." Chase Young whispered into her ear. He wasn't inside her head this time; he was actually speaking to her. Kimiko thrust her eyes open. She was lying in Chase Young's arms and he was looking down at her with a look of minor disgust on his face. He dropped his left arm and lowered her feet to the floor. Chase had appeared from nowhere and caught her as she had fallen. She looked upwards and saw she was directly underneath the cliff, next to the edge of the forest. To think, if she had hit the floor, her broken body would be lying where she stood. Chase pushed her back up to help her steady herself, then turned to walk away.

Kimiko wiped a tear away.

"Why did you do that?" She sniffed.

"If you die, I have no Chosen One." Chase said simply. "The offer still stands. I'll be waiting for you Kimiko. You have until midnight." With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared into a cloud of green smoke.

Again, Kimiko felt her knee's go weak. Footsteps approached her, as she crumbled onto the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest. _How can I make this decision? _She asked herself over and over again, until someone appeared from the thick trees.

"Oh god!" Raimundo gasped and rushed to her on the floor. He pushed her onto her back to see her eyes streaming with tears and her body stiff and rigid.

"You're alive!"

Kim turned her blurry vision to him and more tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"Kim, I saw you jump! You're alright, aren't you?" He scanned her body with his eyes to check for any broken bones. He was surprised she was still alive, let alone unscathed. It was a miracle.

With a tiny nod, she sniffed and wiped her tears.

"How do I choose, Rai?" She mumbled at him.

"Kim, did you hit your head?" He asked and tenderly lifted her up. If she had any broken bones, she could not stay there. She would have to be moved. After gently scooping her up, he carried her through the forest.

"Rai…." She whispered.

"Kim, I think you should stop talking until I get you back to the temple. You don't know what you hit." Raimundo told her rather firmly, and continued to carry her through the forest. He tripped once or twice on protruding tree roots, but luckily managed to steady his footing before dropping the tiny girl in his arms.

"Rai… I'm fine…" Kimiko said after a long time.

"No, you're not. You just jumped off a cliff."

"But he saved me, I didn't hit the floor at all." Kimiko said softly and Raimundo stopped.

"You mean, _Chase?_" Raimundo almost dropped her.

"You can put me down now." Kimiko said. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She wasn't thinking of the fact that she had just attempted suicide and failed, but rather what the hell she was going to do. Chase wanted her to say yes, but if she did, it could be the end to everything and everyone Kimiko had ever known, including her friends.

Raimundo put her down gently. He held her hand to stop her tripping; she was very shaky and unsteady on her feet. _Not surprised after that, _Raimundo thought. Kimiko said nothing and focused on what she was going to tell her fellow dragons at the Temple. Should she lie? Should she tell them everything? What would their reactions be?

After a long silence, the tree's started the get thinner. Raimundo could tell he was near the edge of the forest

"Why did you do it?" Raimundo asked as more light began to shine through the canopy of trees.

"Chase…" Kimiko began, but then faltered, "G-got inside my head. I thought if I jumped, you would all be protected from me." She lied. Raimundo stopped and looked into her eyes. Kimiko hoped she looked genuine. She rarely told lies, especially to her friends.

All the fight in Kimiko had left her. If she had faced this challenge a week ago, she would have stormed over to Chase's palace and, most likely attacked. But everything seemed to have left, including her motivation. She was surprised with Raimundo's level of patience, as she moved slowly through the undergrowth of the forest. As they reached the end, the walls of the Xiaolin Temple became clear and Kimiko braced herself to enter the place she knew she could die in.

Raimundo half-guided, half-pulled Kimiko through the courtyard, which held piles of stacked up metal pieces, which had made up the robots. Master Fung was waiting, along with Clay and Omi by the doorway. Kimiko tried to look dignified and hide her blotchy face. She had only ever cried once in front of her friends. She didn't care if Raimundo saw her cry; they were closer than the other dragons.

"Kimiko!" Omi cried and ran towards her as he spotted her. He leapt into the air and attacked her with a flying hug. Not expecting his hug, Kimiko fell backwards as he collided with her.

"It is good to see you are safe and quiet!" Omi beamed.

"Safe and sound." Clay corrected from the doorway.

"Ah, that too." Omi climbed off from on top of Kimiko and pulled her up. "I am most sorry."

With a small intake of breath, Kimiko nodded wearily. She wondered if she should tell them everything, but the thought of sharing the tremendous guilt she felt with all of them put her off. If they knew she had chose the world over them, they would be hurt, but if she chose them over the world, they would thinks she was stupid. Kimiko could not win either way.

"Kimiko, are you well?" Master Fung eyed her blotchy face and her stiff posture.

"Hmph. You've got Chase to thank for that." Raimundo muttered, turning his head disapprovingly.

"What do you mean?" Master Fung looked at Raimundo, who was turning his head away. He bit his lip, wondering if he should explain.

"I… saw Kim jump from that cliff," Raimundo pointed at the mountainside pathway, which protruded from the side of the mountain, "so I went there to get her, but she was already fine. Turns out Chase Young saved her in mid-air."

Kimiko nodded to back up his story, but said nothing, and made eye contact with none of them. She had noticed a few minor cuts and bruises on them. If she looked at them any more, she would only feel more guilt.

"Come, Kimiko." Master Fung held his hand out to her, and she took it slowly. He patiently waited for her to make her way steadily into the temple with him. Master Fung escorted her into her bedroom.

"I have made you some tea. Drink it, and go to sleep young monk. No doubt you should need to clear your thoughts." He pulled her over to the bed and pushed her shoulders down gently, so she was forced to lie back in it. Next to her bed sat a cup of tea on her bedside table.

She shook her head and tried to sit upright.

"I'm fine." She mumbled.

"Very well, just drink your tea and return once you are done." Master Fung turned and left the bedroom. Kimiko took the tea gratefully and tipped the teacup up so that the warm brown liquid tipped down her throat. After five swallows, the tea was gone. Kimiko sat on her bed for a moment, then decided she would come clean. The tea was making her drowsy, but if she slept now, Kimiko thought she would oversleep her deadline. If Chase thought the answer was the same, he would surely attack. The tea was making her dizzy and tired, but despite this, Kimiko stood up. She wobbled unsteadily on her feet, and then collapsed onto the bed. Her eyes slid shut gently and she was asleep before she hit the pillow.

"Xiaolin Dragons!" Master Fung called out to the other warriors, who were tidying up the rubble from the attack last night in the courtyard. Omi dropped the piece of armour he was carrying, which clattered onto the floor noisily.

"Yes, Master Fung?" Omi asked, looking curiously at the old monk.

"Chase Young plans to attack again tonight." Master Fung said seriously. Raimundo and Clay's jaws dropped. Omi was not surprised at all. He had been expecting it since he learned of Chases' involvement.

"How do you know this, Master Fung?" Raimundo asked curiously.

"Chase would not save her life if he was just going to give up. I believe he will have given her two options, which will seem like an impossible choice for her. If he attacks tonight, she will most likely agree to his terms, feeling she has no other options. We must not allow this to happen, which is why I have drugged her to sleep until tomorrow morning." Master Fung had sounded stern up until the last sentence, when sudden shifted his tone to guilty.

"Woah, you _drugged_ her?" Dojo slithered out from underneath a metal chunk and looked at the old man in disbelief.

"She cannot agree to his terms if she cannot wake up." Master Fung said rather smartly. With that, Master Fung turned on his heel and left the courtyard, leaving the three monks astounded.

Chase Young sat in his solitary throne. It was almost midnight, which is the deadline he had given Kimiko. He had been monitoring her process through their connection, which he had established a few nights ago. After touching her forehead, he was able to see exactly what she saw and heard. She seemed to have decided it was a nightmare, which suited Chase just fine. The less she remembered – the better. Chase concentrated for a moment, and linked his mind with hers. She was dreaming at the moment. She had been asleep for well over twelve hours. Chase had originally thought she was declining his offer, but he could hear the noise from the other monks in the Temple, which should have woken her immediately, but still she snoozed on. This was when Chase realised the old monk had obviously tampered with her. Chase had positioned his jungle cats outside the Temple, and had instructed them to attack at midnight, only stopping if he told them to.

Chase sighed. The old monk was making this much more difficult for him. With much focus, Chase pushed out his own thoughts and implanted them in Kimiko's head. It was like a small walkie-talkie inside his head. Everything she thought or said, he could hear when he made the connection. In time, she would be able to learn to do the same. The thoughts of an evil Kimiko made him lose track, and he had to force himself to make the connection stable.

"Kimiko!" He shouted inside her head.

"Chase? What are you doing here?" He heard her voice call back distantly, like she was at the opposite end of a football pitch to him, and they were shouting messages to each other.

"The offer still stands. Do you accept?" Chase teased her.

"Leave me alone. I've got hours left before I decide." Her voice called.

"Actually, the old monk drugged you, you have only ten minutes." Chase told her knowledgeably.

"WHAT?" She screeched loudly.

Chase briefly explained to her that Master Fung had drugged her so that Chase could not communicate with her. Chase pushed out an image of one of his tiger warriors shaking Omi's dead body, covered in blood. He had just imagined it, but the thoughts alone were enough to shake her slightly.

Chase felt Kimiko cringe.

"I can't do it, Chase!" Her voice cracked slightly.

"You want this to happen?" Chase called icily, and showed her images of her father dead, along with her friends back home. She saw the dead bodies of Omi, Clay, Master Fung, Dojo and Raimundo stacked onto a pile.

"NO!" Kimiko shouted back.

"Then agree, Kimiko!" Chase shouted, but something interfered with the connection. Kimiko was waking up from the sleep, and soon enough, Chase knew why. Somebody was shaking her. The jungle warriors had begun to attack the temple already.

Chase smirked. This was going to be like taking candy from a baby.


	10. Breathe

CHAPTER TEN: BREATHE

"Kimiko!" Raimundo shook Kimiko violently, "Quick! We have to get out of the Temple!" She opened her eyes, feeling like she had been knocked out. Groggily, she blinked slowly.

"W-what?" She mumbled into the darkness. Kimiko could only see blurry lines but she could tell Raimundo was there and it was nighttime.

"Kimiko! Get up! Chase is attacking and we have to get you out of here!" Raimundo pulled her off her bed and onto her feet. Kimiko was drowsy and could not manage to find her feet, leaving her floppy.

"Kim, for God's sake!" Raimundo swept his arm under her legs and carried her through the temple. The noise was deafening as he carried her through the corridors and out the back entrance, running.

Kimiko blinked again and shook her head. The mist covering her eyes cleared and she was able to take in her surroundings. Raimundo was carrying her through the temple. She felt something wet on her hand. She lifted her hand up, and noticed a spot of blood, which glistened in the pale moon's light. Kimiko could smell blood and when she looked up at Raimundo, she saw he had three long, bloody gashes across his chest. His top was stained as the wounds bled, quickly turning his white hoody into a red/brown colour.

"Rai, what's happening? You're hurt!" Raimundo did not look at her, but stared ahead, still jogging.

"It's nothing. Kim, sorry, I had to move you. Chase is attacking us again! There's a huge army of jungle cats running around all over the place. Master Fung ordered me to take you to the caves. The others are staying here to fight." Raimundo continued through the archway and left the Temple. He stopped for a moment, checked his surroundings, and then carried on. Raimundo was panting slightly, feeling the muscles in his arms beginning to strain from lifting Kimiko's weight for so long. He had, after all, carried her halfway around the Temple whilst jogging. Raimundo continued into the depths of the forest before Kimiko finally came to her senses.

"Raimundo! Put me down!" Kimiko ordered. Raimundo stopped and hesitated. He seemed to decide it was all right, because he gently lowered her to her feet. She turned towards the Temple and before she knew what she was doing, she was running back towards the battle.

"Kim!" Raimundo called after her and she sped away from him. Kimiko ran faster than she had ever run before. This battle was her doing and if anyone got hurt, she would never forgive herself. Raimundo was catching up to her fast as she approached the edge of the forest. With a fleeting look behind her shoulder, Kimiko felt her palms burn hot and she fired a thin streak of fire behind her. Whether it hit Raimundo or not, it would slow him down. Kimiko hoped he had dodged, but a small burn was minor compared to the angry scratch marks left by Chase's jungle cats on his chest.

Raimundo managed to dodge the fireball, but as he did so, Kimiko was already inside the Temple. She almost flew into the courtyard where she could hear her friends fighting, when she almost collapsed. Standing dominantly was Chase Young in the centre of the courtyard, close to the fountain. Omi and Clay were surrounded by dozens of jungle cats and warriors. Omi had a large bump protruding from his head, and his right arm and left ankle were bleeding. Clay had a trickle of blood oozing from his forehead, a mangled leg, which at least, was broken. Kimiko froze as Chase turned around slowly.

"I was wondering when you would join us." He said. Kimiko considered her options for a moment; she could run, and no doubt cause more trouble. She could fight him, and most probably lose. Then, Kimiko did something she had never done before; she begged.

"Let them go, Chase. Please. They didn't do anything to deserve this." Kimiko pleaded, "please… Please don't hurt them…"

With a small smirk, Chase turned his back on her and looked at the surrounded monks.

"The offer still stands, Kimiko. If you agree, it might sway my decision." He said, smiling wickedly at the monks, who were looking around at the growling animals.

Kimiko clutched her head, which throbbed painfully. It was far too much for her to handle. Omi and Clay shouted their support, but Kimiko doubted if they truly meant it.

"Don't do it, Kimiko!"

"No, Kimiko!"

Chase turned back to her and held his hand out.

"Well?"

She looked at the jungle cats that were waiting eagerly for Chase's signal and at the apologetic look on her friends' faces. A tear slipped from her eye as she shook her head.

Chase scowled and turned his back on her.

"Very well. Jungle Cats, take care of those-" Chase was cut off mid-sentence by the war cry of a flying being, who leapt across the courtyard and aimed a flying-kick at Chase, who blocked it effortlessly.

"Did you honestly think that would work, Raimundo?" Chase asked, smirking slightly. Raimundo growled angrily and moved back a little bit, so that he had more distance to safely choose a next move.

"Look, _Chase._ Kimiko isn't interested in you or your stupid offers. So leave us all alone, because none of us would ever go onto the dark side." Raimundo folded his arms and glared at Chase.

"Oh?" Chase raised his thick black eyebrows, "I heard _you _did."

Raimundo suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"That's enough chit-chat!" He shouted as he leapt at Chase again. Raimundo aimed a punch at Chase, who caught his fist with his left hand and stopped him in his tracks. Chase's right hand crept up to Raimundo's throat and he began to get a firm grip on the boy.

"You betrayed your friends for material possessions without a second thought, then betrayed Wuya again. Tell me, Raimundo, have you ever stayed true to anything? Or do you just enjoy turning your back on everything and everyone?" Chase was still smirking, which seemed to be the permanent expression etched upon his face. Raimundo turned red.

"You don't know me!" Raimundo shouted, spitting purposely as he spoke. Chase gritted his teeth and squeezed Raimundo's throat, as Kimiko stared on in horror. Raimundo began to pull at Chase's hands, gasping for air.

"NO!" Kimiko shouted, running towards them both. Omi and Clay were staring in horror, frozen to their spots. Kimiko pulled at Chase's hands.

"Let him go!" She shouted, aiming to kick Chase in between the legs. Chase flicked her on the forehead effortlessly and she fell backwards.

"Stop please!" Kimiko leapt back up to her feet. "Please!" She repeated. Raimundo slowly closed his eyes and his body went limp. Chase let go of him and he fell to the floor with a horrible thud. Kimiko ran to the boy, who was lying face down on the hard stones. She flipped him onto his back, where she listened for his breathing to start again. Kimiko put her ear close to his mouth, where she could hear his throat creaking. Suddenly, Raimundo's eyes opened and he started coughing. His eyes watered and he turned a deep red, as he coughed violently. Pushing Kimiko away, Chase picked up Raimundo by his top, and held him several inches from the floor, while the young monk fought to get his breath back. Chase pulled out a long blade from a holder in his belt and held it to Raimundo's neck. Kimiko stared in horror again. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"NO!" He cried and ran towards Chase, who aimed a kick at her, sending her backwards.

"You know what you have to do, Kimiko." Chase smiled wickedly and turned on the small girl. Kimiko looked at Raimundo, who had stopped coughing. His neck looked sore and red, Kimiko knew he was going to be bruised there. Kimiko didn't answer.

"I'm waiting." Chase said, scrutinising her carefully. When she didn't respond, Chase pressed the blade into Raimundo's neck. Tiny streaks of blood began to run from his neck.

"Ten seconds, Kimiko." Chase taunted her, smiling like a madman. Kimiko trembled violently. Either way, Kimiko knew she was going to hurt someone, but she could not just stand idly by while Chase slaughtered her friends.

"Seven…" He counted. Omi and Clay shouted their support again.

"Kimiko, don't do it!" They both called in unison, and both flinched as a jungle cat took a swipe at them with its' sharp claws poking out of its paw.

"Five…" Chase counted. He was beginning to wonder if Kimiko was the best monk to move to the dark side after all.

Kimiko's head was swimming. She was unable to move, or talk. Chase was growing impatient and picked up the pace of his counted. Kimiko saw Raimundo look at her with eyes that clearly told her not to agree.

"Three… Two…-"

"FINE!" Kimiko screamed at Chase, "I'll do it! I'll join the Heylin side! Just let them all go, unharmed, and I'll come with you quietly."

Beaming, Chase dropped Raimundo to the floor. He rubbed his sore throat and looked back at his fellow monks with a clear look of disbelief on his face. They all stared in shock at Kimiko's final choice.

Chase walked towards Kimiko, grinning from ear to ear; a rare sight. He snapped his fingers and the jungle cats surrounding the monks moved away. Kimiko looked at her friend's ashamedly, bowing her head. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes. Chase held out his gloved hand to her and she took it. He pulled her up from the floor.

"Do you swear your loyalty to me, Kimiko Tohomiko?" Chase asked her, his eyes bearing down upon her, as she bowed her head down low.

"Yes." She whispered and sniffed loudly.

"Kimiko! Have you any idea of what you just did?" Raimundo yelled at her. She didn't move, or even acknowledge he had spoke. Kimiko knew exactly what she had just done. She had been selfish; she could not watch her friends die to save the world. It was impossible.

"Good." Chase reached out and touched her forehead with his two fingers. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. Kimiko felt a jolt of energy run though her body. Kimiko groaned in pain as her spine began to shift. Her long, slender arms legs shrank into short furry feline legs. Her back cracked as she fell forward. She felt a long tail form from her tailbone and her feet turn into paws. Her face slowly elongated and grew black fur all over it. Whiskers sprouted from her nose and she felt the shape of her mouth change. Her ears seem to move upwards and become pointed.

Kimiko groaned as the pain shot through her body again, it was almost as if the pain was completing the process. Raimundo, Omi and Clay gasped as Kimiko opened her eyes. She was much shorter as she glanced up at the towering figure above her. She felt not two feet on the floor, but four paws. With a loud gasp, Kimiko knew exactly what had happened. She used her back legs to hop up onto the side of the fountain. Moving came naturally to her, almost as if she had learnt to do it already. She was careful not to lean over too far off the edge of the stone fountain and stared down into the water held inside it. What she saw surprised her slightly, for she was no longer Kimiko. No.

She was a cat. But not a tiger or a lion like Chase's other warriors, she had transformed into a small black cat. Her fur was shimmering under the moons pale light, and Kimiko's piercing blue eyes stood out against her black fur. She felt her ears twitch and lower at the sadness of her new form. Chase moved behind her, joining her in looking at her reflection in the water. He stroked her head softly. Kimiko leapt back and without realising it, let out a fierce hiss. Chase looked mildly surprised, but did not hold this expression for long. Chase Young shot a smirk at the gob smacked Xiaolin Dragons, who were stood in the corner of the Temple's courtyard, looking at Kimiko in shock and horror. Chase Young felt a feeling of joy; he had broken the four Xiaolin Dragons apart. Now, nobody could defeat him. Not only this, but he also had Kimiko poised at his side forever. Chase's eyes flickered for a moment and he narrowed his eyes as he turned away from the scene.

"Come, we have much to discuss." Chase beckoned Kimiko to follow him as he left the Temple's courtyard. Kimiko timidly approached her friends in her new form. Her friends looked down upon her with mixed facial expressions. There was a variety of expressions on each of their faces; betrayal, sadness, disgust, hopelessness and apologetic. Kimiko sat in front of her friends with her head bowed in shame.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Another tear fell from her bright, blue eyes and ran down the side of her furry face.

Omi reached forward and stroked her head softly. Kimiko purred slightly, feeling safe with her friends.

"Kimiko, you have perhaps chosen the wrong decision, but I have faith that no matter how long you stay with Chase Young, you will never truly be evil."

Omi smiled. He had meant his words to comfort her, but Kimiko did not really take in what he had said. Clay had to bend down, trying not to put any pressure on his broken leg, and patted her with a rather heavy-hand, on her head and smiled reassuringly.

"Trust me, lil' lady. If there's one person that ain't switchin' sides, it's you." Kimiko smiled slightly, before turning to Raimundo. She expected him to say something, but he just bowed his head at her, saying nothing.

"I'm sorry." She repeated to the monks before she turned away from them and slowly made her way out of the Temple. Chase Young waited for her at the edge of the forest. Kimiko made her way to him slowly and sat down beside him. He snapped his fingers and they both disappeared into a cloud of thick, green smoke.


	11. Enslaved

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ENSLAVED

"I still can't believe it!" Raimundo said, pacing the floor and rubbing his neck, "How could she?" He looked at Omi and Clay, who were being checked over by Master Fung for any serious injuries.

"Ouch!" Omi shouted as Master Fung touched the sore bump protruding from his head.

"Hmm. It appears you are fine, Omi. Your injuries will heal quickly." Master Fung knelt down to inspect Clay's broken leg. He was leaning against the wall in the corner. He was sweating and looked like he was going to be sick. Master Fung touched Clay's knee and he flinched with a loud groan.

"Your knee-cap is fractured." Master Fung continued to press along Clay's leg. There was another cry of agony from the pale cowboy, who closed his eyes, as if trying to block out the pain.

"You need to rest your leg, Clay. It is broken here," he gestured towards the lower half of his leg. "I will find suitable bandages for it and something to take away the pain." With that, Master Fung got to his feet, and went through the doorway, leaving the room to stay in silence. Raimundo sat on the sofa inside the temple's sitting room and sighed. Omi was sitting on the floor with his legs folded and his eyes tightly shut, in a meditating pose.

Omi frowned. His head was hurting from trying to think too hard. But Omi could not think of any way possible to get Kimiko out of her deal, unless they challenged Chase Young to a Xiaolin Showdown. If they challenged him, they would most likely lose. After all, Kimiko was part of the team and without her help they would definitely lose. There was not even a slight possibility that Chase would allow her to fight with the Xiaolin Monks again. The monks combined were too strong for Chase alone to compete with. Chase knew this, which is why he would never allow Kimiko to fight with them.

"I am most worried." Omi said after a while, not opening his eyes. Raimundo jumped at the sound of his voice. He had been trying to drift off to sleep. He was exhausted after everything that had happened.

"Me too, Omi." Raimundo said quietly, "Me too."

Something touched Kimiko and she jerked upright, hissing furiously. Sleeping as a cat was difficult and the positions were uncomfortable a new to her. The slightest noises or movements seemed to force her awake. Her fur had brushed against a pillow and made her jump. The lack of sleep was making her highly irritable.

Chase had taken her from the Temple and given her a small bedroom of her own to sleep in. It was just a few doors down from Chase's bedroom and once or twice she had thought about creeping in there to attack him. But the chances of her attacking and getting anywhere in this form were very slim. Her bedroom was really quite dull. She had an old cot to sleep on, which took up most of the space in the tiny room. There was a cat flap installed into the door, which was locked from the other side, and a small slot at the bottom of the door. Kimiko assumed this was to post any food or water through, but it was locked at the moment. When she thought of food, she felt slightly hungry and jumped down from the bed.

Using her newfound senses and abilities was a lot more useful than she had first anticipated. Not only was she a much better climber, runner and jumper, but she also had better senses, which helped her dearly to tell when Chase's Jungle Cats were near. When she had first arrived at Chase's home in her cat form, the warriors and jungle cats eyed her hungrily, as if she were a free meal. She had kept close to Chase's legs when she had first entered. They had not said a word to each other since they had both left the Temple; she had just followed him without question. After all, he essentially owned her now. Even if Kimiko could escape, she would be bound by her word to stay. Kimiko had followed Chase around his home until he stopped outside a black door. He opened the door and stood in the doorway. Kimiko assumed he was waiting for her to go in, so she did. He slammed the door behind her and had not returned since.

Kimiko's stomach let out a loud grumble again and she paced the room. Everything was much easier for her now, but she had noticed she felt considerably weakened. It was almost as if she had been turned into this form so that she could not hold her true power.

She began to think of her friends, for she could not stop herself. Her mind had been drifting back to them often, but to stop herself getting upset she had blocked them from her mind. Kimiko rested her head on her paws and put her ears down miserably. She could not imagine how things could get much worse. How wrong she was, as just at that moment the door banged open.

"Come, Kimiko. It is time to begin your training." Chase stood in the doorway, looking upon her with piercing eyes. Kimiko almost felt as though he could see right inside her head. Perhaps he could. With the strange connection they had, perhaps he could see inside her thoughts. With a sigh, Kimiko got to her feet, which were paws actually. She decided he must have read her thoughts; Chase would not want her to think of the Xiaolin monks now. Kimiko was almost certain that he would attempt to keep her as busy as possible to stop her thoughts from wandering.

Kimiko approached her new master timidly, a trait which she did not usually display, and looked upon him with fearful eyes.

"You need not be afraid. I will not hurt you." Chase told her and beckoned her to follow him down the corridor, her stomach grumbling all the way. Chase paused and she almost crashed into the back of his armoured legs.

"Would you like something to eat?" He asked quietly, not even turning to look at her.

"Yes." She said clearly, smiling. A hungry Kimiko was not a happy Kimiko. He carried on walking and she followed him like his shadow.

Chase led her into his dining room. It was a big room with a small table in the centre of it. Kimiko was surprised to see a table covered in plates filled with smoking food. The smells filled her nose as she drew closer to the centre of the room. The dining table was covered in a large white tablecloth and there was a single wooden chair on the far end of the table. There was candelabra's on the walls to light up the large room. It seemed strange to Kimiko to use such a big room for such a small purpose, but she was not concerned greatly by this matter. She was mainly focusing on the many plates holding mountains of food. Chase Young laughed when he saw her expression.

"Help yourself." He told her and within an instant she was gone. Chase blinked and saw her up on top of the table, nibbling ferociously on a large, sizzling hot chicken, which rested upon a silver platter. She didn't care if she was being rude; she was famished. She looked so tiny compared to the huge bird on the table. Chase was only reminded of how powerless she was in this form. _I shall change her back when she is learned in the Heylin ways._

Kimiko was struggling greatly to eat. The shape of her mouth made it very difficult to eat unless the food was flat on the floor in front of her. She was also having trouble biting large chunks at once. Kimiko also saw many of her favourite dishes, including Sushi and noodles. There was also a bowl of strange-looking soup, which Kimiko would not touch, just in case it was a bowl of Chases' famous Lao Mang Long soup.

Chase sat quietly at the table, sipping at a cup of tea, watching as Kimiko devoured tiny amounts before breathing heavily, almost as if she had eaten her fill already. He couldn't help but imagine her doing this everyday until the end of time.

"Again!" Chase shouted at Kimiko, who was almost panting like a dog. It was a simple task, but nearly impossible. Chase had taken her to his own personal training room and told her to catch him. Thinking it would be incredibly easy with her newfound abilities, she charged and was thrown headfirst into the wall. Chase was surprisingly fast. He was able to move quicker than Kimiko could see him. When she finally managed to catch him, he told her to do it again. Kimiko felt like she was going to collapse. Her paws were sore and she could hardly catch her breath. She stopped for a moment to take a drink from the water bowl Chase had left for her. She couldn't get used to using her tongue to drink, but Kimiko assumed she was going to be here for a long time. Every bit of fight and attitude that once made Kimiko herself had left her when she had sworn her loyalty to Chase. She found herself questioning if, when she had sworn her loyalty to him, she had sworn away her Xiaolin Qualities. She hoped that she hadn't, but until some sort of test came along, the answer to that question would rely upon her decisions, particularly under Chase's rule.

"You may rest for a moment. Then we will continue." Chase told her, brushing his hair out of the way of his eyes. He took a long sip from his silver cup but didn't appear to be fatigued at all. Kimiko eyed him jealously. She flopped onto the floor; feeling like she had just ran a marathon with a thick winter coat on in a swelteringly warm heat wave. She still had to carry on after her quick rest.

After ten minutes, Kimiko had caught her breath and had taken a long drink. Chase had watched her the whole time. She felt nervous with his eyes upon her like that. Chase had stood in the same place without moving, until he finally spoke.

"Come Kimiko. Now we will begin to train using your element."

Kimiko followed him, easily keeping up with his brisk pace. Eventually, after making their way through the endless maze that was Chase's home, they ended up outside. Kimiko took in a long breath of the fresh air. The view was not much, just a large forest and a few mountains in the distance. It was nothing compared to the beauty of the temple. It had not even been a day since she had left the Temple, yet she had found herself missing every aspect of her old life, the life, which she could not now return to.

Upon sensing Kimiko's thoughts wander back to the Temple, Chase snapped his fingers. Kimiko saw the forest disappear and the Temple appear instantly. She wondered if she was hallucinating, but then she realised Chase had teleported them.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked quietly as she gazed out at the view. Even from here, it was spectacular. Now she away from it, she realised she had never fully appreciated the view from the mountainside. Forests and mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. Kimiko stood on the mountainside cliff, overlooking the Xiaolin Temple once again.

"It's them!" Dojo cried, slithering into the dining room of the Temple, "I've been using the Falcon's Eye to check up there all day. Just in case he tried to attack from there, using her element! But, guys, they're there!" Dojo shouted at the monks, who were all huddled around the dining table. Omi raised his eyebrows and ran to the window.

"He is right! I can see two figures on the mountainside." Omi turned to tell Raimundo and Clay, both of whom were both still looking surprised at Dojo's outburst.

Raimundo seemed to realise the situation after a second and flew to the window. He squinted to see two dark figures on the mountainside. It was a long way away to tell if it was Chase and Kimiko or not.

"Dojo, can I use the Falcon's Eye for a sec?" Raimundo held his hand out, without taking his eyes away from the two figures. He felt the small Shen Gong Wu drop into his hand.

"Falcon's Eye!" Raimundo shouted, activating the Shen Gong Wu. He pressed the metal against his eye, while Omi and Clay waited for his confirmation.

"Yeah. He's right. I can see them both. Chase is talking to her and she's still Kimiko-cat…." Raimundo said, looking at the small black creature next to Chase. It was obviously Kimiko. No other black cat could look so miserable standing next to Chase. Chase was a cat-lover after all. The thought of Chase petting Kimiko made him shudder slightly.

"Kim…Cat?" Clay asked uncertainly, "Are you sure? When he attacked with Omi, he was back in his Omi form."

"No," Omi piped up, "You are mistaken. The evil me from the Yin Yang World attacked you. Omi-cat was when I was bound by my word afterwards." Omi looked miserable. He knew exactly what poor Kimiko was going through and could sympathise entirely. To be imprisoned by your own doing was heartbreaking.

"Guys!" Raimundo called suddenly, "She's burning the forest!"

"I want you to set the forest on fire using your element, Kimiko." Chase told her, looking down at her.

"I don't know how to. Not in this form." Kimiko replied, hoping to get away without doing it. There was no way she was destroying the beautiful forest which harboured so many animals, not to mention it was a neighbour to the Temple.

"It is exactly the same as before. Do not think I will be fooled by such lies." Chase smirked annoyingly at her. She scowled at produced a tiny ball of fire, no bigger than her little toe and shot it at the forest. It barely got a few inches away from her when it burnt out.

"I'm too tired." She lied again, "I can't do it today." _I am not going to set fire to the forest! There is no way in hell! I won't do it!_

"Kimiko." Chase looked fierce, "either you set it alight, or I force you to set the Xiaolin Temple on fire. It is your choice." He glared at her, looking terrifying.

"I can't do it! I'm too tired!" She lied, "It's not my fault!" Kimiko hoped if he thought she was genuinely too tired to produce her element properly, he would give in.

"Very well. You leave me no other choice." Chase closed his eyes, while Kimiko watched in horror. She had hoped that her final attempt to refuse would work. Kimiko yowled as a sharp pain shot through her skull. Her head throbbed as she felt her body move without her making it do so. It was almost as if she was sitting in a car, the driver was Chase, and Kimiko was sitting in the passenger seat, watching as Chase drove the car, or in this case, her body. Kimiko could still feel everything, but her control was gone. It was the strangest and worst feeling she had ever experienced.

Chase closed Kimiko's eyes and she felt her fire rushing to her surface.

"No! Stop! All right! I'll do it!" She shouted, but the words came out as thoughts and not from her mouth.

Kimiko gasped for breath as Chase left her body, smiling nastily.

"You see, Kimiko. You have no options here. Either you do as I say, or I force you to do it. Simple." Chase told her sternly, "Now, set the forest on fire!"

Kimiko closer her eyes, horrified at what she was about to do and felt her fire rushing up to the surface of her body. Concentrating, she managed to make the fire appear and group into a large, burning ball of fire. She held it there for a second, feeling her energy drain by the second. The strength required to hold something of its' size was enormous. The fireball was at least three times her normal height.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered to herself and for some reason, she hoped her friends could hear her.

Looking away, Kimiko let go of the fireball and it sped towards the forest.

The forest set on fire quickly. The strong winds helps to fan the flames and blow them around, making the other tree's catch alight quicker. Within a minute, a large part of the forest was alight. The smoke rising from it was thick and black. It clung in the sky like a koala to a tree and would not fade or disappear. Kimiko could feel the heat from where she stood and saw many animals fleeing the forest in fright.

Within five minutes, the whole forest was burning. The smoke was unbelievably thick and heavy. Kimiko choked as the black smoke washed over her, blowing ash above her head. She could hear the frightened cries of animals trapped in the forest. She even saw a large animal, set alight and fleeing from the fire, still alive. She felt a tear slip out of her eye and she bowed her head. _What have I done?_

Out of the corner of her eye, Kimiko saw something move to the North. She happened to glance over to the Temple to see three figures running out of the courtyard. Her friends were arriving to tidy up _her _mess.

Omi was using the Orb of Tornami to try and extinguish some of the fire. Whilst Clay helped the animals burnt or wounded by the fire. Several dead animal carcasses were dragged out of the forest by Clay, who was hopping along on crutches, and laid out delicately in a row. Kimiko did not dare count them.

Chase and Kimiko stood and watched as Omi and Clay attempted to stop the forest burning. Omi was doing a good job. When the fires were almost out, Chase Young turned around, putting his back to the fire.

"Your training is over for today. I am proud of you. Already you are showing excellent qualities. Soon, I shall return you to your human form." He told her, smiling at her like a teacher would do when their student did much better then expected.

"Why did you do it?" Raimundo's voice called from somewhere behind Kimiko. She wiped her eyes and whipped around, turning her back on the fire to find the source of the noise.

"I saw you! It was you! Why didn't you refuse?" Raimundo had run up the mountainside passes to reach them both and approached them from behind. His head was wet with sweat and he was breathing heavily.

Kimiko was about to defend her case, when she was struck with an idea. She smirked, just as Chase had done so many times already.

"Why would I refuse, Raimundo? Why would I? It's not like I don't want to do it. I've learned already that using my element to release all of my emotions is wonderful." Kimiko turned her voice into a cold, icy murmur, which managed to sound soft but could be heard over the noises of Omi and Clay working behind them.

"Kim… What has he done to you?" Raimundo looked as though he was about to burst into tears. "You aren't the Kimiko I know!" He yelled at Kimiko, pointing his finger at her. Chase was amused, he began to wonder if she was being serious or not. Somehow, when Kimiko's emotions were strong, he was unable to penetrate her thoughts.

"I am still the same Kimiko, Raimundo. But Chase has shown me true power. He was right all along, Raimundo, don't you see? I've got more power than I thought I ever could. Choosing Chase was the best decision I've ever made." Kimiko said in her icy murmur, trying to imitate the way Chase spoke.

"No. You aren't Kimiko. Not anymore." Raimundo turned his back on them and disappeared down the mountainside path.

Chase lifted his eyebrow and Kimiko turned away from Raimundo. She dropped her pretence and looked at Chase. She was trembling as she spoke,

"Can we leave now please?"

With a snap of his fingers, Kimiko was transported instantly from the mountainside into her small, dull bedroom back at Chase's house. She was alone. Where Chase was, she did not know, want to know or care. She leapt on the bed and curled into a ball. More tears fell from her sore eyes.

_If they think I'm evil, when they take down Chase. They can take me down with them. After everything I've done and will be forced to do, there is no way I can go back to being Xiaolin. Omi is stronger than me and had more chance of getting out. I have to do something to get myself out of this mess and if dying at the hands of my friends is the only way to do it, so be it._


	12. Deal

CHAPTER TWELVE: DEAL

It had been three weeks since Kimiko had left the Temple. She had not seen, nor heard from her friends, but she had spent all day, every day training. Kimiko was back in her human form now. After deciding she was almost ready to rule at his side, Chase had switched her back to a human. Chase had said he didn't want to become too accustomed to being a cat. Kimiko privately agreed. She had noticed some of her original power return to her since being back in her human form. As much as she was glad to be herself, or at much as it was possible to be considering her situation, she did not want Chase using her powers against her friends.

Kimiko thought that after spending so much time with Chase, she would grow to like him as her thoughts became blacker and more evil, but so far, she had only grown to despise him more and more every day. He no longer scared her, nor was he able to read her thoughts anymore. She had learnt to clear her mind whenever he attempted to, and whenever she felt his presence in her head, she would instantly block him out. It had irritated him greatly.

This gave her more time to think about her friends. As much as she longed to be with them, they were the only things that kept her sane. If she had been alone, Kimiko was sure she would have been truly evil by now.

Kimiko began to wonder if there was any way she could sneak out and see them. Chase trusted her a lot more now, but she doubted if it was enough to let her leave without him being beside her, especially to go and speak with the Xiaolin Dragons. Chase had trained Kimiko to think of them as the enemy and to no longer count herself among them. Despite this, she could not think of them as her enemies; she cared for them all too much to hate them, but she no longer counted herself as one of them. She had taken a completely different path to them now and Kimiko did not think she could ever go back and change it, not now.

Kimiko was used to Chase's home now. When she had first arrived, it had seemed much like a maze; there were corridors and rooms all over the place, but her time spent there helped her to learn the places within his home. There were a few rooms she had never been in before, and one corridor, which was forbidden to her. She wondered if this was where Chase kept his Jungle Cats, as she had often seen many of them wander in and out of it before, but she'd never been allowed anywhere near it. The one time she had tried to go near it, Chase had gotten so angry he transformed into his Lizard form before her very eyes. He was ten feet tall and his scales glistened. His long teeth were shining and his eyes were menacing. Chase looked very intimidating in this form, and Kimiko didn't try it again after that; when Chase was angry, he turned into a Lizard, and when he turned into a Lizard, he was deadly. No matter who it was he was dealing with and Kimiko was not ready to die, not just yet. She needed to say goodbye to her friends first.

"Kimiko." Chase greeted her at the table when she sat down. Chase knew her well enough to know that she did not feel like talking much in the morning, just eating. Kimiko sat at the table, not looking at Chase and she helped herself to a bowl of cereal. Chase watched her silently. He always watched her eat. The constant presence of his eyes irritated her immensely and when she was grumpy, she was liable to snap at him for it. When she snapped at Chase, he would usually raise his eyebrow, look away and then continue to stare moments later. Kimiko usually just thought of her friends when she was around Chase, it seemed to help block him and his methods of training her out of her mind.

"I thought we could try something a little bit different today." Chase spoke as he sipped a cup of tea, watching for her reaction.

"Different?" Kimiko meant to sound like she was interested, but she had not long woken up, so her voice sounded like a bored drawl.

"Yes, would you care to try it?" He asked her, looking down at the tea in his cup for a moment, then letting his snake-like eyes flash back up onto her face. His thoughts wandered again, and he found himself fantasizing about Kimiko as his Queen. Chase scowled for a moment, then remembered Kimiko was watching him. He tried to look normal, but he saw the confusion flicker on her face and sighed.

"Uh… depends what it is…" Kimiko said. She knew she didn't really have a choice. Whatever Chase wanted her to do, she had to do it, whether she liked it or not. If she defied him, he would simply take control of her mind. She had learnt to disable his control for brief moments when he tried, but it was _very _difficult to continue for more than a few seconds. Kimiko was trying to perfect the art; if Chase could not force her to do anything, he would be completely powerless against her. Of course, she would still be loyal to him, but she could defy him as much as she could.

"Wait and see. Get dressed and meet me outside when you are ready." Chase told her, before leaving the table. He moved with desperation, as if something was terribly wrong. Were Omi, Raimundo and Clay here? Had they come to save her? _No, they think I'm evil now. Of course they haven't. _Kimiko bowed her head sadly.

"Having trouble on the Heylin side, Kimiko?" A familiar voice called from behind her. It was a voice she had not heard for a long time, and, quite frankly, Kimiko could not care less if she never heard the voice again. Kimiko was rather surprised.

"Wuya?" She asked, turning around in her seat to look at the ghostly, purple figure gliding across the large room towards her.

"I thought you'd gone for good." Kimiko told her and Wuya scowled.

"Well, apparently I'm not good enough for _Mr. Spicer. _So I've just been window-shopping, looking for someone else to help me out." If Wuya could have spat, she would have spat the sentence. Kimiko heard the obvious sarcasm in her voice, but there was something in her tone, which made her seem less of an enemy to Kimiko, and much more like a friend.

"Look, Kimiko. I'm going to be completely honest with you. I don't have a body and no one will help me. All I need is the Reversing Mirror and The Serpents Tail. Chase has them both here. All you have to do is get them for me and I can give you anything you want." Wuya pleaded, her voice was soft and she spoke quickly. Wuya was begging. Kimiko raised her eyebrows.

"Wuya, I won't turn you human again. Remember what happened last time?" Kimiko looked expectantly at Wuya, who looked rather embarrassed. She moved around so that she was hovering over the dinner table, Kimiko had to turn in her seat again to face her.

"That was then. Now I've got much bigger fish to fry, Kimiko." Wuya was holding her ghostly arms in front of her, looking innocently at Kimiko.

"You mean you're after Chase?" Kimiko caught on quickly. Wuya mumbled something, which Kimiko didn't hear. Then she spoke again,

"Kimiko, if you do this for me, I can get you anything! Please! I can tell you exactly where to get the Shen Gong Wu, if you can do it without Chase knowing, I will be human again and I can even get you out of here for a few hours. You could go back to the Temple and see the other Xiaolin Monks again!" Wuya was beginning to sway Kimiko. But the thought of going back to the Temple frightened her, as much as she longed to return, if the monks thought she was still on the Xiaolin side, they would attempt to rescue her from Chase's clutches. _But… what if I pretended to be evil again? I could still see them, but if I acted evil, they would think I'd become like Chase! Then they would try and take Chase down faster, and I can go down with him! _

Kimiko had worked out a plan within moments. She had firmly decided that she would go back and visit her friends, pretend to be evil, as she had done before. Not only would this satisfy her need to see them, but it would also speed up the monks attack. Kimiko knew that they would eventually attack, and she only hoped that she would be taken down along with Chase. It was too late be normal, and too late to be Xiaolin again. Kimiko had already accepted her fate and she embraced it. Being Chase's prisoner was not good, if her death was her only release, then she would gladly die.

Wuya cleared her ghostly throat, waiting for a response. Kimiko blushed, she hadn't realised she'd been thinking about it for so long.

"Alright, I'll do it. I turn you human, you take me back to the Temple to see them again." Kimiko nodded at Wuya, who beamed like a child at Christmas.

"Then we have a deal. But I should warn you; I'll only be able to get you out of here for a few hours. If Chase finds you with me, he'll know what you've done. He will kill me and you shall be punished for disobeying him." Wuya warned her, "And you must keep it a secret. I will come for you in one hour, by then you should have got the Shen Gong Wu. Chase keeps them in the West Wing of his home, down the long corridor and in the door at the end, but if his Jungle Cat's spot you they'll get Chase, so you'll have to work around it somehow, or just be really quick."

"That's the only corridor I'm forbidden from!" Kimiko scowled. This would make it even more difficult. Not only would she have to find the time to sneak away from Chase, but she would also have to sneak into a corridor, guarded by jungle cats, who would certainly rat her out if they saw her, and steal two of the most precious Shen Gong Wu to Chase, make Wuya human, then both of them could escape for an hour or two. It wasn't going to be easy. Not easy at all.

"How do I know you're going to keep your word?" Kimiko asked suddenly, as Wuya turned to leave.

"I help those who help me, if you'll remember the last time I rose to the height of evil, Raimundo helped me and was rewarded for it. I won't break my word. Chase is getting close, so I must leave. Keep it secret. I'll find you in one hour!" Wuya left the dining room, leaving the room silent and empty, until Chase burst through the door.

"Have you seen her?" He shouted to Kimiko, he was grinding his teeth together furiously as he paced around the room.

"Who?" She asked, trying to look innocent as she took a bite from a slice of toast.

"The Ghostly Hag!" Chase shouted, throwing his arms out to the sides. Kimiko didn't flinch at his shouts anymore. She had grown used to them already.

"Wuya?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and trying to sound as innocent as she could. "She's been gone for ages. Is she back?" Kimiko tried to sound as genuine as she could.

Chase growled and stormed over towards her, he banged his fist on the table, which cracked, split in two, and fell over, leaving broken cutlery and dishes all over the floor. There were also splats of food all over the floor. Kimiko's breakfast was no longer edible. She scowled grumpily. Kimiko had no idea why Chase was so angry. If he believed Wuya was at his home, was that such a big deal? Perhaps he was just angry because he thought she was trying to steal the Shen Gong Wu. After all, Wuya was incredibly annoying to Chase.

_Wuya isn't going to steal the Wu, Chase. That's my job now,_ Kimiko thought.

After Chase had stormed out of the room to go and calm himself down, Kimiko had leapt into action. She took advantage of his absence and fled into the forbidden corridor in the West Wing. There were only two jungle cats guarding the door at the end of the corridor, and Kimiko took care of them easily. It was strange for Kimiko to think that a month ago, the jungle cats would have bested her. Even though she despised Chase, even Kimiko had to admit, he had given her more power and made her train harder. She began to wonder if she was stronger than Omi now. Pushing the thoughts of her friends aside, saving them for later, she entered the room

The large room was dimly lit and there were many rows of glass cases, each had a special shape and nametag. Each Shen Gong Wu had its own case; Kimiko saw some labelled with familiar names, such as The Black Beetle, and some labelled with names she had never heard of. Oddly, the room reminded Kimiko of the Yin Yang World, when there had been shelves filled with bottles of Chi, only this time there were Shen Gong Wu cases in rows.

Kimiko ran across the cases, looking for the two she needed. She came across the Serpent's Tail first. She picked it and stuffed it inside her robes. She still needed the Reversing Mirror to complete her mission. Kimiko checked her Cell Phone for the time, there was only thirty minutes left for her to find the other Shen Gong Wu. She didn't even know if Chase _had _the Reversing Mirror. So many Shen Gong Wu had been stolen or traded, it was hard to tell who still had what.

Kimiko ran across another row, panting. She still didn't find it. She ran down the last row and skidded to a halt halfway down it. Inside one of the cases lay The Reversing Mirror, gleaming. Kimiko caught a glimpse of her reflection in it and she was surprised. Since she had left the Temple, she no longer wore her hair in bunches and she was amazed at what effect it had had on her. She looked older now, much older. The way her hair hung around her face made her cheekbones look higher; even Kimiko could not deny that she looked better with her hair down. The bunches she used to wear had made her look much younger than her actual age, but she didn't mind. She thought they were cute. She'd always thought her hair down made her cheeks look chubby, but now, Kimiko realised that she was much prettier with her hair down.

Kimiko snapped out of her distraction and took the mirror out of its case. There was only fifteen minutes left. She was starting to panic. If Chase caught her in here, he would go crazy. He might even kill her._ I should be so lucky, _Kimiko scoffed and wheeled around. She had been so busy concentrating on finding the Shen Gong Wu that she had not realised that she had lost sight of the entrance to the room. She ran to the end of the isles, and looked for the door. After running around for another five minutes, Kimiko found the doorway and burst through it, panting.

Kimiko wasn't sure where to wait for Wuya or if she would even turn up. Wuya _hated _Kimiko. Maybe she was playing a cruel joke on her, trying to get her into trouble with Chase, who could have come bursting through the door at any moment. The five minutes Kimiko spent waiting in her room for Wuya to turn up were the longest she'd ever experienced. After a few minutes, Kimiko was sweating because she was panicking. _Wuya's not going to turn up, Chase is going to kill me for stealing the only two Shen Gong Wu Chase wants to keep away from her, and I'm not going to get to see my friends ever again._

"I'm here!" Wuya called as she glided through the solid walls of Kimiko's dull little room. Kimiko's heart skipped a beat at the shock of it, and then she sighed in relief. "You've got them? Excellent!" Wuya folded her hands. "Now you've just got to give me back my body and you can see your friends again."

"Now?" Kimiko asked, putting the reversing mirror on the floor, leaving upright against the wall.

"Yes, of course now. Just activate the Shen Gong Wu and I'll activate the Mirror, and then we can go." Wuya said impatiently.

"Okay." Kimiko held up the Serpents' Tail.

"Quickly!" Wuya hissed, "Chase knows that you've taken the Shen Gong Wu!"

"Serpent's Tail!" Kimiko cried and she felt her body pull in the direction of the Mirror.

"Reversing Mirror!" Wuya shouted and the mirror glowed.

As the two Shen Gong Wu touched, the whole room was filled with a golden light and suddenly Kimiko felt herself land on the floor with a dull thud. She picked herself up and looked around for Wuya, who was sat on her bed, posing. She looked exactly the same as she had done before. The markings around her eyes, her big, red hair, her bright green eyes and her black dress were all the same. Kimiko smiled. She remembered when the monks had fought Wuya before, when Raimundo had switched alignment. Everything had been so simple back then.

"He's coming! Quickly!" Wuya cried and grabbed Kimiko's arm. Wuya snapped her fingers and as the two disappeared into the green smoke, Kimiko heard a bang from her room, and, what were unmistakably, Chase's screams of fury. Kimiko gulped; when she got back, there was going to be hell to pay.

Wuya took Kimiko directly outside the entrance of the Temple. Wuya turned to Kimiko.

"Thank you Kimiko. You know Chase will be angry when you go back?" Wuya asked, not looking concerned at all. On the contrary, she was grinning like a maniac. _That's my little present from her then. I knew she hated me._

Kimiko nodded and Wuya turned to retreat into the forest.

"You've got an hour before I take you back. Chase will be watching, and probably listening so make sure you don't mention my name to them. If he questions you, you took them because you wanted to see your friends and you needed the Serpent's tail to escape, and the Reversing Mirror to reflect any attacks they used on you. He only saw you fly through the wall, I made sure of it. One Hour." Wuya called over her shoulder, and Kimiko saw her form disappear into the forest.

Taking a deep breath to calm down her nerves and her excitement, Kimiko looked at the Temple once again. It was remarkable how beautiful it seemed to her now. Even the smell of it was heavenly. Kimiko stood outside the Temple's entrance for a moment, and then looked up to the left. Sure enough, on the mountainside pass, stood a tiny figure. _He knows I'm here now._

Kimiko composed herself and straightened her robes. _Remember Kimiko. You have to act evil. _Kimiko told herself.

_Okay… It's time for my poker face. _

Kimiko fixed her facial features so they she would appear to be expressionless. She would have to maintain this look for the whole hour. Realising that she needed to make use of the time she had been given, she stepped inside the Temple's courtyard.

She admired the stone fountain as she passed it, trying to hold her expression to stop herself from smiling. Then, she heard the unmistakable sound of Raimundo's shoes against the wooden floors of the Temple.

Raimundo had run to the doorway, smiling, clearly expecting someone else's return. He froze at the sight of her and went paler than she had ever seen anyone go in such a short amount of time. It took every ounce of energy and self-discipline she had in her body to stop herself from running and hugging him. But even a slight smile had to be stopped.

"K- Kimiko? Is that you?" He stammered, looking at her in disbelief.

"I came to say goodbye." Kimiko told him, trying to imitate the way Chase spoke. Her murmur was soft, but it still loud enough for him to hear her clearly. With authority, she walked past him and into the Temple itself.


	13. Poker Face

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: POKER FACE

"You're here…" Raimundo couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in front of him, dressed in black robes, was the very person whom he thought he would never get to speak to again - Kimiko.

"That's right." She said smoothly, keeping an expressionless face.

Without fully realising his emotions, Raimundo ran to her small body and engulfed it in his warm arms, hugging her tightly. He let out a sigh of relief; he had missed everything about her at the temple. The monks had heard nothing of Chase or Kimiko in the past few weeks, so Raimundo was immensely grateful to know she was still alive, even if she couldn't stay. She didn't respond to his hug at all. She had just stayed stiff and unresponsive. With a short intake of breath, Raimundo let her go.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking confused, "Aren't you happy to be back?"

"No." She lied, "As I said, I only came to say goodbye."

At the sight of Raimundo's hurt expression, a small part of Kimiko died inside her. Every shred of internal strength she had went into restraining herself from hugging him. Keeping her face blank, she tried to act as Chase did. She folded her arms and looked at the floor, as Chase often did when he spoke to her.

"It's been a long time." She said softly, "I can't stay for long."

"Wait. So, Chase is letting you come here?" Raimundo had raised one eyebrow, and from the look of confusion etched upon his face, he did not understand at all.

"Chase is not my Master, Dragon of the Wind, he is merely my teacher and I am the student. He has taught me what it means to have power, and I intend to use it wisely." Kimiko's voice was barely more than a whisper, but Raimundo caught every word. Even he couldn't miss the meaning in her voice.

"You've changed." Raimundo said, "I thought you'd still be Kimiko… at least, I hoped you would. _He's _changed you." His brain seemed to click and he had a sudden realisation. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly.

"It's a trance or something!" He gasped at his own false epiphany and yelled into her ear. "KIMIKO! ARE YOU IN THERE!"

"Stop it!" Kimiko shouted at him, holding her ear and shaking him off. Her eardrum throbbed. Raimundo turned around and flopped into the chair, holding his head with one of his hands. He was quiet for a moment.

"Kimiko. Please, I'm begging you. Come back. Omi and Clay will be back soon, they want you to stay too! It's not the same without you. Who else is going to annoy the hell out of me by beating my high score on Goo Zombies 7?" With a small smile, Raimundo looked up at Kimiko.

Kimiko's heart was slowly sinking and she could feel the tears rushing to her eyes. She hadn't wanted this. She had only wanted to say goodbye, not get upset or try and stay.

"I can't come back, Rai." Her voice cracked, and for a moment she thought she was going to burst into tears. She cleared her throat and Raimundo looked at her suspiciously, as if he knew it was all an act. Kimiko panicked and continued to throw him off track.

"I'm loyal to Chase now, and there's nothing that can be done to change that. I have more power now and I have to use it for what it needs to be used for." Kimiko was trying to stick to her plan, feeling like she was about to crumble into a sobbing wreck at any time.

Just then, the pair heard the voices of Omi and Clay coming from outside the Temple. With Raimundo ran to the door to inform them of Kimiko's presence, she checked her cell phone, only fifteen minutes had gone. As much as she was pleased to see them all again, she was finding it difficult to stick to the plan. If she hadn't been trying to act like she was evil, she would have been pleased at how slowly time seemed to be going.

"Kimiko is here?" She heard Omi ask. There was the noise of running and the small monk appeared in the doorway. His face lit up and he ran and hugged her tightly, barely reaching her chest. Omi was beaming, whilst Clay hung back in the doorway. His blonde fringe covered his eyebrows, but Kimiko could tell they were raised in surprise.

"Fancy seeing you back here again, lil' lady. I'm mighty pleased to know you're safe." Clay tipped his hat to her, smiling. Kimiko held onto her Poker Face, to stop herself smiling back; it was almost impossible to do so.

"Kim's not coming back." Raimundo said quietly, "She's staying with Chase permanently."

Clay and Omi looked at Raimundo, then at Kimiko expectantly.

"It's true." She said softly, imitating Chase's voice and folding her arms. "The Heylin side is where I truly belong. I always felt different from you three, and now I know why; it's because I'm not like any of you. My element, my anger, can't you all see? It's because I'm meant to be on the Heylin side. You know I can't control my anger, and when I release my element, I do so much damage. Everything all adds up to this." Kimiko concluded. She'd just made the whole thing up on the spot, but some how she had almost managed to convince herself it was true.

There was a long silence before Omi finally spoke,

"I do not think you belong on the Heylin side, Kimiko. I may have made jokes in the past about your abilities as a Xiaolin Dragon, but I do not doubt them now." He said quietly.

"Forget it, Omi." Kimiko said rather harshly. Omi was taken aback and looked quite offended.

"None of you understand. Chase does. He knows what it's like to not be able to control himself. That's why I choose to stay with him. None of you understand that I can't help being the way I am, so its' time you all finally understood things. Chase has given me more power than I ever thought I could have, and now I intend to use it wisely." Kimiko was getting so good at telling lies. It frightened her now. She was surprised that she managed to sound so angry whilst staying expressionless.

_I suppose I have been spending a lot of time with Chase, I'm probably just picking up his speech patterns, that's all. That's all it is._

But Kimiko wasn't so sure now.

"You really have changed, Kimiko." Master Fung's voice loomed from the darkness of the corner behind her. She had no idea how long he had been standing there.

Omi, Raimundo and Clay didn't look at all surprised to see Master Fung; rather, they looked like they were shell-shocked from what Kimiko had said.

"Of course I've changed." She snapped purposely. The ruder and more different she appeared to be, the faster the monks would take action against Chase, and, essentially, her.

Omi, Raimundo and Clay looked shocked, and none of them really seemed able to speak.

"Well, I came here to say goodbye. So I bid you all farewell, and I hope that when we meet in battle you will consider joining me rather than being defeated by myself." Kimiko said in her murmur.

With that, Kimiko walked straight past the saddened faces and out into the Temple's courtyard. She turned around and saw the three monks watching her leave. They bowed their heads. They truly believed it was too late to save Kimiko. All hope for her return left as she walked into the forest, not even looking back at them.

They didn't see the tears pouring down her face or her hands shaking as she was forced to make her way to the mountainside, where Chase was still standing, waiting for her.

Kimiko hadn't needed the full hour to see her friends. In fact, she'd barely used up forty-minutes of her time. Wuya was nowhere to be seen.

Kimiko sniffed and wiped her eyes as she jogged up the mountain pass. It would take her a while to get to Chase this way, but at least she was willing to try. There was the familiar _poof _as someone teleported behind her. She stopped jogging, turned around in time to see the green smoke clearing. Chase Young looked furious.

"Why did you do it?" He snarled at her. "You are supposed to be loyal to me now, or does your word no longer count for anything? Do you want to be a slave, Kimiko? Would you prefer to be treated this way? It can be arranged! I am so furious with you! I thought you were making progress!" Chase growled at her. "You deliberately disobeyed my orders, and I shall not make the mistake of being so lenient with the level of freedom you have within my home again!"

Chase gritted his teeth and walked towards her. He stuck out his arm and struck her sharply across the face. Kimiko gasped and grabbed her stinging cheek. Chase moved his fingers into her hair and knotted them tightly in it. He got a firm grip on her hair and dragged her along the mountainside pass by her hair. She attempted to prise his fingers away, holding her hair just beneath where he was to lessen the pain. She groaned as Chase tugged harder. Kimiko stopped attempting to fight back and ignored the pain. Kimiko had been expecting punishment. Seeing her friends for one last time would make every punishment Chase could give to Kimiko seem worthwhile.

With a frustrated growl, Chase snapped his fingers and they both disappeared into the familiar cloud of green smoke.

Wuya looked around the corner to where Chase and Kimiko had both been stood moments ago. She smiled to herself and moved away from the rocks. _That's exactly what you get for trusting somebody, Kimiko, _She thought. With a smirk, she disappeared into the smoke.


	14. Punishment

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: PUNISHMENT

"You stupid girl!" Chase growled, "Not only did you go in the one place I forbade you to go, you stole two of the Shen Gong Wu from me! Tell me, Kimiko. Are you stupid? Did you think you could escape? Did you think they would welcome you back with open arms? You were obviously mistaken! You idiotic child!" Chase had been ranting and raving in his lizard form for over fifteen minutes.

Kimiko merely smiled to herself. She was sat on the tiny bed in her small bedroom, watching Chase pace backwards and forwards while he raved like a lunatic. His lizard form did not frighten her; Kimiko felt stronger, more so than she had ever done. The reunion with her friends, even under such strange circumstances, had given her the motivating boost she needed. Not only Kimiko was fighting against Chase to save the world, so were the Xiaolin Dragons. This made Kimiko feel much closer to them. They were all united under one goal, except, the other dragons didn't know this. In fact, when the Xiaolin Warriors defeated Chase, they would probably take down Kimiko too. The thought of death no longer frightened Kimiko. Now she had seen her friends, she was ready. This gave her another reason to rebel against Chase, just in the fact that she no longer cared if he chose to kill her or not. He didn't scare her in the slightest.

Kimiko let out a bored yawn, quite clearly so Chase could see. Without warning, he turned and grabbed her by her arm. His grip was so tight, Kimiko felt her bones creaking under the pressure; it was painful to say the least, but she didn't complain. At least he had not broken her bones, which he could have easily done. He tugged her out of her bedroom and through the endless corridors in his home.

He muttered to himself, growling and snarling. Occasionally, he spat in disgust. Kimiko thought it was vile of him to do so, but said nothing. She tried to work out where he was taking her, but after the first few corridors, she was lost. After what seemed like hours, the long walk was over and Chase stopped outside a black door with a small slot and a window. He kicked the door open with his lizard-like feet, revealing a dark room.

"If you refuse to be loyal to me, you can stay in here! Get inside!" He snarled at her and pushed her into the dim room. There was only a table, a toilet and a very small bed in there. Kimiko turned around in time to see Chase disappear and slam the door shut, loudly behind him. There was the unmistakable _click_ of someone locking the door. Kimiko listened and Chase's noisy footsteps gradually faded as he moved away. She listened for a moment and heard the low growling of one of Chase's jungle cats, which had obviously been positioned by the door.

With a sigh, she flopped down onto the tiny bed, which she could barely see.

_Look at the up side, Kimiko. You get to lie here until further notice. You don't have to train. You get to think about the others as much as you want._

But the thought of the Xiaolin Monks made her pine for them. She had only just left them, yet she longed to return to them already.

_It isn't going to happen. You're on the Heylin side now. You can't ever go back to being one of them._

It was six days later before Kimiko had had enough. Kimiko was sweaty, smelly, grumpy and dirty. Chase had provided her with food every day by posting it through the tiny slot in the door. She looked forward to this the most, as this was the only meal she was given. Six days felt like an eternity to her. Chase had completely cut her off from everything, including sunlight. When the slot opened, light poured into the room and made her feel blinded.

She had been going crazy all on her own. She had fallen into a surreal sense of time. It had gotten to the point where Kimiko couldn't even guess as to how long she had been rotting in that cell. As far as Kimiko was concerned, she had been in there for weeks. The only things that she had to notify her of the passing days were the small rations of food, which were slotted through her door every morning.

Kimiko had thought constantly of her friends through the whole imprisonment. She even dreamed about them every night. Kimiko almost wished they could come and save her, but she knew that they had seen her looking healthy and well. They assumed she was being treated in the same way now. How wrong they were.

On the seventh morning, Kimiko was lying on her tiny bed, waiting for the familiar squeak of metal from the slot to inform her that her breakfast was coming. Kimiko heard the slot slide open as she lay on her bed. She opened her eyes and was almost blinded by the light. Then, the lock clicked. Kimiko jerked upright. The light was like daggers on her eyes. She had been lying in a dark room for almost a week, and the removal from lights had made her eyes adjust to the darkness. She shielded her eyes with her arm and squinted. A hand knotted into her greasy hair and tugged her off the bed. She held onto her hair underneath the hand and tried to move ahead of the person as whoever it was dragged her out of the room.

"Let go!" She cried, blinking rapidly, trying to get her eyes to adjust. "Get off me!" She aimed a blind punch at the person. Her fist connected with their leg.

"Stop it!" Chase shouted and he yanked on her hair. Kimiko gasped in pain and gritted her teeth as she realised who it was.

"You bastard!" She screamed, punching blindly with her hand. Her vision was blurry as it slowly began to adjust to the change of environment. "You bastard! Get off me! Get the hell off me!" She shouted, punching the blurry figure. The punches connected with his body. Her vision finally cleared and she was able to see that she was being dragged down the long corridors. Kimiko was surprised to see that he didn't have the familiar armour he always wore on today. She screamed like a spoiled toddler and punched at him, screeching for him to let go of her.

"Shut up!" he shouted at her, gritting his teeth angrily. When she screamed louder, he slapped her sharply across the face. Kimiko's cheek stung and turned red.

"GET OFF ME!" She screamed, still writhing in his grasp.

"Kimiko, either shut up or you can stay in there for even longer." Chase sternly said. Kimiko fell silent.

"You have been away from training far too long. You must work extra hard to catch up." He told her, relaxing his grip on her hair a tiny bit.

"Whose fault is that?" She mumbled, not really expecting him to hear it.

"Yours…" Chase told her, looking vicious. "_YOU _were the one who disobeyed me."

"_YOU were the one who _locked me in that stinking room!" Kimiko yelled, mocking the way Chase spoke.

Chase growled.

Chase pushed her backwards so she fell onto her backside again.

"Get up!" He commanded. Kimiko sat on the floor stiffly. She had been trying to "train" but her legs were stiff from not using them for so long. She had no energy, or motivation. It was as if she had simply given up. She would have loved a shower, being clean was the first thing on her mind.

"I can't!" She shouted angrily at him, not even bothering so control her anger. Her palms burned. She had been trying to avoid using her element, as she wanted to save the power she had to take down Chase.

"You will address me with more respect! Do not forget your place, Kimiko!" Chase shouted in her face, spitting slightly as he spoke. He gestured to his chest with his thumb.

Kimiko muttered, feeling highly patronised, "Would you prefer 'Miss Chase' or 'My lady'?"

Chase's foot connected with her chest faster than she ever thought anyone could move. She was flung backwards at the wall. Within seconds, he had her by the throat up against the wall. He held her inches off the floor with his left hand wrapped tightly around her neck. She began to choke. Chase was snarling inches from her face, his teeth were bared and suddenly, without realising what he was doing, he crashed his lips upon hers.

If Kimiko hadn't been suffocating, she would have been more concerned by his sudden kiss. He pulled away, looking slightly embarrassed. Kimiko attempted to use her element, but she was too weak and tired. Using what little energy she had left, she spat in his face. He dropped her instantly.

Chase kicked her squarely in the stomach and she screamed in pain. Another blow to the head and the back came. She felt herself be lifted from the floor and thrown into a wall. Her head and back collided with the wall and she slid down it, feeling dizzy. Her head felt like it was exploding. Chase was then upon her again, but this time, he didn't look embarrassed. He looked determined.

There was something in his eyes, which told Kimiko what Chase was about to do, was nothing good. His hands crept up her legs and he kissed her again.

"No…" she groaned pushing his hands away from her, but he carried on until he reached her waist. There was a loud rip and Kimiko's robes were shredded as Chase pulled them away with a lazy movement of his hands. She squealed and covered her body, shaking in terror.

"Don't be afraid…" Chase whispered sarcastically into her ear and ran his hand along her body. Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to use her element, but the sheer shock and terror, plus the weakness of her condition were too much for her. Her element would not surface. He pulled her hands away from her and held them above her head with one of his hands. Kimiko trembled and her body shook with huge sobs.

"No! No!" She cried, kicking her legs as Chase looked upon her bare form.

Chase advanced upon her again, with the same evil glint in his eyes and, despite her feeble attempts to free herself, he moved closely to her once again.

Kimiko lay sore and exhausted on the floor where Chase had left her, with only the remains of her tattered robes to cover herself with. She had stopped shaking, but the tears, which had been flowing for so long, didn't seem to be stopping. She was cold and bruised. Kimiko felt angry, humiliated, terrified, helpless and invaded.

She blinked the tears away as she hugged her knee's. Slowly, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and a wave of warmth swept over her. Her element was rushing to her surface quickly, too quickly. With a scream of anger, large jets of fire shot out of her body in all different directions. This only irritated her even more.

_I'm going to make him pay for that. Even if it's the last thing I do._ Kimiko vowed to herself, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

Shaking, she pulled herself to her feet and walked unsteadily towards the bathroom, where a warm shower and a clean pair of robes waited for her.

"Kimiko!" Chase growled into the bathroom, "Get out here now."

He knocked his knuckles against the door again. Kimiko trembled.

"G-go away…" She whispered back through the door, shaking. Her whole body was jolting.

For the first time in her life, Kimiko admitted to herself the one thing she never thought she would; she was afraid. She was more afraid than she had ever been before.

"Kimiko…" The sly voice whispered through the door. "Either come out, or I shall drag you out."

Kimiko felt tears dropping freely form her eyes, and she reached her trembling hand towards the doorknob and opened the door. She backed away as the door swung open, revealing Chase standing in the doorway.

He was frowning as Kimiko shrunk into the wall.

"Stand up." He commanded, but Kimiko did not move. She only looked down at the floor, trying not to make eye contact.

Chase advanced towards her and knotted his fingers in her damp hair tightly.

"Kimiko. Stand up." He warned her.

She flew upright, not looking into his eyes. Her body was shaking. Chase released her.

"I'm glad to see you have chosen to stick by your word. Would you prefer to keep it that way?" Chase asked, looking at the shaking girl in front of him.

She nodded, not speaking. The tears were flowing from her eyes easily.

"Very well. Then we shall see if you truly mean that. Come with me." Chase walked out of the bathroom and stood outside the door.

Trembling, Kimiko took an unsteady step towards him, before falling to her hands and knees. She let out a tiny squeak and pulled herself up to her feet. She somehow managed to successfully make her way out of the bathroom. Chase smiled as she approached and snapped his fingers.

The room dissolved into a thick green haze.

"They have arrived!" Omi shouted to his friends.

"Falcon's Eye!" Clay yelled and held the small piece of metal up to his eye.

"Yep, that's them alright." Clay confirmed, looking at the two figures on the mountainside.

"It is a good thing we are no longer habitants of the Temple." Omi said, peering out of the cave's mouth.

After Kimiko attacked the forest close to the Temple, Master Fung had ordered the Xiaolin Monks to flee and inhabit one of the caves hidden in the mountains. They had been watching the mountainside pass often to see if they returned. Master Fung and the other older monks had stayed behind in the Temple. Omi, Clay, Raimundo and Dojo were rather upset about being ordered into the mountains. They had only been ordered away from the Temple once before, which was when Mala Mala Jong had formed back in the early days of their training as Xiaolin Dragons. As Master Fung had ordered them to do so now, they assumed that Kimiko had turned tremendously evil and was now a huge threat to the Dragons. This saddened them enormously to think that their once trusted friend was now an enemy that wanted to kill them.

They had spent most of their time in the caves thinking of plans to take down Chase, but, short of challenging him to a Showdown, all their plans had been useless. They had to, of course, think about taking down Kimiko too. They had not seen her for over a week and had no idea just how evil she might have turned. After all, Kimiko could be even more powerful than Chase by now. But if the time came to kill her, the monks were not sure they could bring themselves to do it. They prayed that she could be saved.

Clay passed the Shen Gong Wu to Omi, who had been holding his hands out expectantly.

Omi looked through the metal eye and gasped. Raimundo and Clay turned their heads just in time to see Kimiko conjure a fireball, which was easily the size of a large house, and release it. It flew towards the Xiaolin Temple.

Master Fung would not have enough time to escape before the fireball hit the Temple.


	15. Evil

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: EVIL

"Y-you want me to burn the Temple?" Kimiko trembled as Chase stood, towering over her small body.

"No, I _order_ you to burn the Temple." Chase whispered softly, sounding more dominant than ever.

"I-I c-can't." Kimiko whispered back to him, but she raised her hands in preparation.

"You know now that you cannot resist an order." Chase smirked slightly.

Kimiko knew that if she did not obey Chase, he could force himself upon her once again. Chase could even force her to do it if he so wished; Kimiko was weakened considerably. If he attempted to penetrate her mind and attempt to force her to obey him, Kimiko would not be able to resist him.

With a deep breath, she channelled all of her emotions into the pit of her stomach. All the love, the hate, anger, humiliation, sadness and hope were all compressed into a ball in her stomach. She pushed out all the emotions and felt the fire rush to her surface faster than she could have ever imagined. Kimiko really had to focus so that she did not lose control of her element and accidentally set fire to something she did not need to.

Kimiko closed her eyes so that she could focus. She did not see Chase gazing at her.

_How far she has progressed. She no longer even sheds a tear for her old accomplices._

When Kimiko opened her eyes, a large fireball was hovering in front of her. Kimiko could barely hold it for much longer. The sheer amount of energy and strength that was needed to contain her element was too much for her to handle. With a strenuous groan, she released the huge fireball and sent it towards the Xiaolin Temple.

Kimiko didn't feel she had any emotion left to spare, as the fireball hurtled towards the Temple; which would surely cause the Temple to explode and crumble into dust.

"Quickly! We must go and assist Master Fung!" Omi shouted and he and Raimundo charged out of the cave, leaving Clay, who was rather stunned, behind.

"Omi! Have you got the Orb of Tornami?" Raimundo called, as the pair dashed towards the Temple. Omi stuffed his hands inside his robes and pulled out the sphere. He held it up so that Raimundo could see it.

Just then, the fireball collided with the Temple. It was the biggest explosion of fire the monks had ever witnessed. The huge fireball hit the roof of the Temple, and in doing so; it broke apart into many smaller fireballs, which also hit part of the Temple. The chain was never-ending. Each time a bit of fire hit a part of the Temple; it broke into smaller chunks, which in turn, hit other parts of the Temple.

The whole Temple was up in flames within the minute.

Omi suddenly stopped running towards the Temple and sat on the Orb of Tornami. He held up his finger and yelled,

"Orb of Tornami!"

It was just like someone had strapped a rocket to Omi, for the small boy was soon flying off towards the Temple, leaving a stream of pale blue water behind him. Raimundo ducked as the figure shot over his head, and continued running towards the burning building.

Clay took a while to get to the Temple, as he was still using his crutches from his broken leg. It was healing well, but was still tender. He was hopping as fast as he could, but it took him much longer to get there than the others.

The three monks were soon battling against the raging fire. The heat was unbearable. Omi was using the Orb of Tornami to conjure water to extinguish the fires. Raimundo was using the Sword of the Storm to direct Omi's water onto the worst parts of the fire. When Clay finally arrived, he was not of much help to the dragons. He merely attempted to douse the smaller flames in the courtyard with buckets of water and his hat, but this was no easy task for him, as his crutches restrained how strong his grip on the bucket and his hat were, meaning he often spilled most of the water before he actually reached the burning objects.

Master Fung and the other older monks were nowhere to be found outside; the monks hoped that they were not trapped inside.

When Chase spotted the monks battling the fire, he scowled and turned his back. Kimiko, who was exhausted, backed away from the fire like it was a hungry lion approaching her. The emotions that she should have felt were gone. Even the longing to see her friends was no longer there; she felt no happiness in seeing them once again. It was like she had become an empty shell.

"Our work here is done." Chase said and he snapped his fingers, before watching the scene dissolve into green smoke.

"Come with me, Kimiko. I wish to speak with you." Chase told her when they arrived back at his home. Chase began walking and went through a door, leading to the eastern wing of Chase's home.

Suppressing a sigh, Kimiko plodded after Chase; she didn't really focus of where she was going, just that she was tired. Luckily, it wasn't long before he stopped and entered a door along the right hand side of the corridor. Kimiko followed him inside. She was pleasantly surprised at the nature of the room. It was a lot like a sitting room. There were three red sofas, all positioned around a small coffee table and there were bookshelves and knick-knacks lining the walls. Chase sat on one of the sofas and let out a relaxed sigh. Kimiko stood in the doorway.

"Come. Sit." Chase gestured towards the sofa opposite him. Kimiko hesitantly took her seat.

"I thought that I should apologise to you for what I did." Chase looked solemn as he spoke, but he kept eye contact the entire time. Kimiko felt her jaw drop.

"I realise now that what I did was an extremely dishonourable thing to do and I do not have the words to explain my actions. I hope that you can forgive me. It would seem as though in my fit of anger I lost my self control for a moment."

He paused for a while, and then continued.

"I saw that you did not hesitate to attack the Temple under my orders, which, although I would like you to follow orders, you should not be so afraid of me that you shake with fear. I do not want you to fear me, Kimiko."

Kimiko stared at Chase, who was looking sadly back at her. He took a long breath. His back was straight and he looked very formal and determined, despite his solemn facial expressions.

"Which is why," He said after a long time, "with your permission, of course, I would like to erase your memories of the event using the Wushan Geyser."

Kimiko was silent for a moment. She still felt empty inside; she had thought that after an apology, of all things, from Chase Young, would make her feel _something_. But no, there was nothing. She was the empty shell of the Xiaolin Warrior she once was.

She thought about Chase's offer, as he watched her. After a long and awkward silence, Kimiko finally spoke.

"No." She said, and Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I'd rather remember… than have my memory erased. I didn't like not knowing what had happened before." Kimiko said slowly. The real reason she didn't want him to use the Wushan Geyser on her was just in case he decided to ever do it again. If Kimiko couldn't remember the horrible events of what he had done, she could, given the right circumstances, provoke him to attack her another time, without even knowing she was doing it.

Chase seemed satisfied with her answer and then smirked.

"I have got good news for you, Kimiko."

"What?" Kimiko asked, looking at him curiously.

Chase smiled a genuinely warm smile, which Kimiko had rarely seen, and combed her face with his eyes.

"You obeyed my orders without hesitation. I know I can trust you now…."

Kimiko looked up at Chase.

_Where is he going with this? _

"My original plan was to have you as my 'worker', who would do as I commanded, but after your display today, I think you deserve a title you are worthy of. From now, Kimiko, you are my apprentice. You will learn, in all ways possible, how to take over the world. When the time comes, you will do just that, and you will not fail." Chase stood up and patted her softly on her shoulder, before leaving Kimiko to the silence of the room.

She sat for a moment, with her arms flat against her legs, feeling stunned.

_I've been broken. I'm just as he wanted me to be all along. I'm not his apprentice. I'm his slave. I can't leave here, even though I want to and I can't disobey him. _

_I'm a mini-Chase. He's done it, I've become like him. _

Kimiko knew that slowly, she was becoming the well-oiled machine that Chase was so anxious to turn her into.

_Now I know for sure, I'm never going to be able to go home when I get out of here, IF I get out of here, I should say._

Kimiko felt a rush of emotion come bursting to her surface suddenly. Without hesitation, she scrunched her eyes up and concentrated on ignoring the many emotions, which bubbled up to her surface.

_I need to act like I don't care. If everyone thinks I'm like Chase, which, I am now, they'll act sooner against me._

With a deep breath, Kimiko thought of the food waiting for her and pushed the images of her friends from her head, where she swore she would keep them.

It took all of Kimiko's efforts to restrain the tears, which threatened to spill from her eyes as the memories of her friends were locked away inside her mind – never to be re-opened.


	16. Apprentice

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: APPRENTICE

Kimiko sipped her cup of tea elegantly. Her and Chase were enjoying their breakfast and Chase's dinner table. Chase was sipping a cup of tea, as Kimiko sipped her own and enjoyed some burnt toast. Her and Chase were getting on much better now. While she could not forgive him entirely for what he had done, Kimiko was, after all, loyal to him. She had finally accepted her place alongside him. After fearing Chase for a few hours, she had found out what an intimidating person he could be. As selfish as it sounded to Kimiko, she would not put herself in that position again, not matter what it cost.

Chase watched her as she ate. He could not help but marvel at her. Every aspect of her had improved dramatically since his apology. It seemed that she had not only learnt to respect him, but that she had gained the ability to follow his orders without hesitation. Chase was pleased to see that Kimiko had finally accepted her place and she seemed to be adapting well so far. It had only been one day since he had apologised, but Chase was seeing massive improvements already. She showed little emotion whatsoever now, a trait that she seemed to have developed from Chase. He wondered if she was finally embraced her role and was becoming what Chase intended her to. Evil.

"I thought that we could start our reign today." Chase told her, not taking his serpent eyes away from his cup of tea.

"Where would I start?" Kimiko asked, before biting off another piece of toast. Chase noted how she had said 'I' rather than 'we'. To Chase, it seemed as though Kimiko knew she was vitally important to him, which he did not like at all. Chase needed to _know_ he was in the drivers seat.

"_We," _He corrected her, "will start small. Today, I want you to invade a neighbouring village, just south of here. Bring the villagers back here. Kill any who refuse to co-operate. You will be accompanied by ten of my jungle cats. I suggest you use your element to draw them all out into the open."

"Okay." Kimiko nodded; all emotions disappeared entirely. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew what she was going to do was completely wrong, but every inch of motivation she had once had, had left her body. All resistance had left her completely. She was just a robot. A slave. An evil accomplice. It was a surprise to Kimiko when she realised that she did not care anymore. The only thing she knew to do at the current time was as she was told.

Kimiko left the breakfast table with a polite nod towards Chase and went to take a shower. She undressed herself from her robes and looked in the mirror. All evidence of Chase's attack had vanished from her skin. Kimiko noted that her hair seemed much softer now it was longer and it seemed to hang better around the shape of her face. She took a cleansing shower and got dressed in some clean; black robes Chase supplied her with everyday. Kimiko left the bathroom and informed Chase she was leaving to fulfil her task. Chase smiled when she told him the news.

"I expect to see you in no longer than one hour. Take ten of my jungle cats with you. They will follow your command as they would mine." Chase was amazed at her gracefulness when she approached him now. She seemed to have transformed completely.

"You." Chase pointed to a group of jungle cats, which were sitting, guarding the west wing of his home. "Go with Kimiko, follow her orders as you would mine." Chase didn't have to tell his jungle cats to keep an eye on her. They anticipated his whim, more than they did his orders. After all, Chase could no longer penetrate inside her mind, whatever was going on inside her mind, Chase could not see. Chase could only hope that his efforts had genuinely changed Kimiko, and that it was not all just simply an act. She seemed genuine enough. In her current state, Chase trusted her.

Chase bowed to Kimiko and she did the same, before leading the jungle cats out of Chase's home.

Kimiko stood on a hill overlooking the village. If Kimiko had been a Xiaolin Monk, she would have admired the peace and tranquillity of the village, but all Kimiko saw now was a village, ripe to be ransacked. With Chase's Jungle cats grouped behind her, she raised her hand threateningly. Kimiko focused her energy into producing her element and a thick line of Kimiko's scorching fire appeared around the village, sealing off all the exits to the villagers. When the scruffy villagers, who had not noticed Kimiko, realised they were trapped, they screamed and ran around, frantic with panic, looking for ways to escape. Chase's Jungle cats leapt over the high flames surrounding the frantic villagers and herded them into a tight huddle in the middle of the village. The villager's homes were beginning to catch on fire. Children were squeezing their mother's hands, tears streaming down their faces, clearly frightened. Wives were clutching their children and husbands, whilst the husbands shouted at Kimiko, waving their fists at her. The elderly villagers were also shouting, but some were glancing around, terrified. It was clear that the villagers were all terrified.

Kimiko stood dominantly over the village, looking down upon their pitiful faces.

"Please! Why are you doing this?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Let us go!"

"You can't do this to us!"

"Who do you think you are?"

The villagers screamed at her, but Kimiko stared at them. She waited patiently, as Chase would have done, for them to fall silent. Her chest felt hollow, as if the once caring heart she had once cherished had rotted and died, along with everything good she had ever known.

"You all live under Chase Young's rule now. You will come with me to his home, where you will then have further instruction." Kimiko spoke softly, but somehow, her voice carried over the noise of the flames cracking. Kimiko folded her arms. The women and children in the village began to tremble slightly.

"What makes you think we're going to follow you or this 'Chase'?" A mans voice shouted at her. A young male villager had stepped forwards and was shouting at, waving his arm. His wife was clutching a tiny baby in one arm and reached out towards him, attempting to pull him back by his shoulder and eyeing Chase's jungle cats nervously.

Kimiko felt a smirk slip onto her face.

"I'm under orders to kill anyone who refuses." She whispered to the villagers. The man stepped back into the huddle without another word.

By this time, most of the huts were up in flames. Their straw roofs had caught fire quickly and all of the villager's homes were slowly being destroyed.

"Will you all come with me? Or will you stay here to die? Make your choice now. There will be no second chances." Kimiko said softly.

The villagers whispered to their loved ones, panic and fear were etched onto their faces. Kimiko raised her arm and created a small gap in the circle of fire, wide enough for a few villagers to pass through. The Cats moved outside of the circle and sat next to the opening.

"I can't hold this gap forever, so I suggest if you want to leave, you'd better make your actions clear."

The villagers scrambled out of the gap, whilst Kimiko held it. To no one's surprise, the circle was empty when Kimiko closed the gap.

"Good. Now, you will all follow me. The jungle cats will kill anyone who attempts to harm them, myself or anyone who tries to escape."

The green dragon, which had been flying low, undercover of the trees surrounding the village, was shaking.

Gibbering to himself in disbelief, Dojo soared back to the Temple as fast as he could. The monks needed to know what had become of Kimiko.

Kimiko slid down the hill and began to walk back towards Chase's home. The villagers followed her like lost sheep. They were all huddled together, supporting each other; the younger generation were helping the elderly. Children were crying and hugging their panic-stricken mothers, who were pretending that everything was fine so that the children would not be frightened. The men of the village were holding their wives hands supportively, comforting them as much as they possibly could.

There was a loud yell and something large hit Kimiko from behind, knocking her forwards onto her front, winding her.

"No! Jimmy! Get back!" A woman screamed from behind her.

The person flipped Kimiko onto her back and was holding a blade inches from her throat. Before Kimiko could even gasp, there was a blur of orange and black, which flicked across her sight. The being which was on top of her vanished along with the flurry of colours, leaving Kimiko staring at the sky in confusion. There was a growl and the cry of a teenage boy.

Kimiko bolted upright to see what was happening.

"NO!" Shouted the same woman. Kimiko looked at the huddle of villagers and saw one of the village women attempting to break out of the pack. She was struggling in the arms of a muscular man, who was holding her back, begging her to calm down. She was shaking, in fear, or anger? Tears were streaming down her face as she stared behind Kimiko.

Kimiko whipped around and gasped. A tall teenager boy was underneath the powerful paws of a tiger, which was resting its two front paws on the boy's chest, leaving him choking under its massive weight.

With a jolt, Kimiko realised the boy must have leapt and attacked her and was now suffering the penalty. Something inside Kimiko dropped inside Kimiko's chest as she realised the boy was no older than sixteen.

Everything that had been inside Kimiko's mind up until that moment vanished, and all Kimiko wanted to do was help the boy.

_They're going to kill him!_

The boy groaned and choked. His mother was still screaming for her son.

Regaining her poker face, Kimiko attempted to look expressionless.

"Stop!" Kimiko growled, "I'll deal with him myself."

The tiger growled in the boys face and stepped off him. Instantly, the boys face filled with colour and he choked, clutching his chest.

"Jimmy! Oh! Please! Jimmy!" His mother shouted and attempted to break free from her husbands clutches.

Kimiko walked over to the boy and stood, dominantly over him. She was trying to act as Chase did.

"Take them ahead, I want to deal with him alone. I will catch you up." Kimiko told the jungle cats, who seemed hesitant to leave her alone.

"You heard me! Chase told you to obey my orders as you would his, so I suggest you do so! I will catch you up!" Kimiko shouted at the jungle cats, which suddenly moved as if they were afraid.

The villagers were herded away from Kimiko and the boy and began to disappear in no time.

Jimmy lay on the ground, clutching his aching chest and panting heavily.

"Go on then… kill me… It won't change anything…." He snarled at her, flicking his brown hair from his eyes.

Kimiko knelt down as the villagers disappeared from view, the boys mothers screams could still be heard, even from such a distance.

"I'm not going to kill you, Jimmy…" She paused for a moment and held out her hand to help him up. He hesitated, but took her hand.

"If you do me a favour, I can do you one." She said as she pulled him to his feet.

"How do I know that you aren't just going to kill me?" Jimmy asked, staring into her eyes, as if he were trying to read her mind.

"It's complicated." Kimiko said softly.

"If you aren't going to kill me, what do you want from me? I'm not going to live under this 'Chase' person. I refuse."

Kimiko grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Listen, if Chase wants you to serve him badly enough, my god, you will. How do you think I ended up here? He will blackmail you, or trick you. Either way, you'll end up serving him whether you like it or not. Either that, or you'll be dead." Kimiko warned.

Jimmy widened his eyes.

"You mean, you don't work for him?"

"No. Well, yes, I do, but not out of choice. Well, it was my choice - but I didn't. I mean-" Jimmy raised his eyebrows.

"He made me choose between him or my friends life…. I had to save my friend." Kimiko purposely blocked out Raimundo's name and the image of him. Thinking of them all would only bring her more grief.

"What will Chase do with the villagers?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"I don't know. It's probable they may all be forced to work for him in his home, or they may become his people."

"So they won't be killed?" Jimmy asked with hope in his brown eyes.

"I do not believe they will." Kimiko patted his shoulder reassuringly. He nodded at looked at the floor for a moment. Kimiko seized the opportunity.

"Listen Jimmy, we don't have much time before they come back. I just saved your life. Now I want you to do something for me…" Kimiko asked him. "It's very important that you do this. If you do this right, I can try and set your village free from Chase's home. I can't guarantee anything, but it's worth a shot." Kimiko stared at Jimmy's face.

"Okay, anything to save my family. What do you want me to do?" Jimmy looked determined.

"Alright," Kimiko smiled, "I want you to travel in that direction. It's a long way, but you'll know when you're nearly there. This area is really mountainous and there is a burnt forest and a burnt building there." Kimiko swallowed guiltily.

"It's vitally important that you find three people. They're called Omi, Clay and Raimundo. They should be there, if not, hang around for a few days. They will find you." The sound of their names made Kimiko's voice break. She had to swallow again to avoid tears.

Jimmy nodded.

"When you find them, I want you to tell them that you have escaped from your village after I burnt it. I want you to lie and say that you managed to escape, and you watched me force them all to follow me to Chase's home. I want you to make me sound as evil as you can, without bending the truth too much. If these guys think I'm evil, they'll take down Chase."

Jimmy looked like he was going to ask a question, but he closed his mouth again. He nodded, as if he understood.

"Can I tell them about this? You asking me to find them?"

"No! They _must _think that I'm a heartless, evil, deceitful bitch. You have to do this for me. When you've done this, you can return to your village. Maybe start getting the place back together for when your parents come home." Kimiko looked at the floor.

"What's your name?" Jimmy asked her.

"It's better if you don't know it. Now go!" She pushed him away from her.

"Be careful!" She called as she dashed through the tree's, leaving the determined teen behind her.

It took Kimiko fifteen minutes to catch up with her party. The villagers were silent and cowering as she approached. They looked away when she glanced at them, as though her gaze could burn them. The moment Jimmy's mother saw Kimiko return alone she screamed in anguish and huge sobs shook her body. She began calling for her son. Her husband was practically dragging her. She had lost the will to stand.

The jungle cats seemed to believe she had murdered the boy. Kimiko hoped that her facial expressions did not betray her secret as the villagers approached Chase's home.

Chase sat on his throne, smiling to himself. He stroked a tiger softly in between its' ears, which purred.

There was a loud creak as the door to Chase' swung open. Chase was delighted to see Kimiko return with a whole village behind her. He smiled as she approached him.

"I did as ordered." She said and she gave a slight nod towards him.

"You have done well. Were there any issues?" Chase was smiling like a proud parent, as the villagers cowered at his feet, under the watch of the jungle cats.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Kimiko smiled.

Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_How far she has come._

"You have done better than I expected. You may leave now." Chase nodded respectfully towards the small girl.

Kimiko bowed her head and left the room.

Chase smiled at his newfound followers.

Wuya had been watching Chase's home for a while. She had just watched Kimiko bring a whole village back to Chase's home. Wuya had watched her walk in.

Everything about her had changed. If Wuya hadn't known it was Kimiko, she never would have known. From the way she dressed to the way she walked, everything was different. Her face no longer showed any expression, her clothes were black, she walked with purpose and seemed to move much quieter than she had once done.

Wuya was furious.

_It should be me brining home the hordes of people to worship him!_

It was a rash decision, but Wuya had made it before she had even considered it. She burst through the doors of Chase's home and stomped up the stairs. Chase was sat in his throne with the group of villagers kneeling at his feet.

"Chase!" Wuya shouted at him, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

Chase raised his eyebrows at the sudden surprise visitor, but then his face fell when he realised whom it was.

With a sigh, he flicked his hand at the jungle cats, which herded the villagers out of the room.

Chase had never turned down a Xiaolin Showdown and he did not intend to turn down one proposed by Wuya.

"Very well, Wuya. I accept your challenge. What are your terms?" He asked her, standing up and eyeing her closely.

"If you win, I'll leave you alone and I'll never bother you again, but if I win, I want Kimiko… and all of your Shen Gong Wu!" Wuya pointed fiercely at him, flicking her fiery red hair out of her eyes.

"Fine." Chase replied, folding him arms.

"The game is simple. We fight, the person who is defeated loses." Wuya said.

Kimiko had heard shouting at had come to investigate. She stepped through the door into Chase's throne room and froze.

"Wuya…" She raised her eyebrows, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Run along and play with your toys, little girl." Wuya snarled and glared at Chase.

Chase smirked.

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" Wuya shouted.

There was a rumbling noise and Wuya, Chase and Kimiko were all moved from where they were standing, into a large, circular area in the blink of an eye. Kimiko was used to the magic in Xiaolin Showdowns, but it surprised her immensely to think how much she missed winning Shen Gong Wu.

Kimiko was sat in the stands of the arena. It reminded her of the images of the old coliseums the Romans used to use. Chase and Wuya were in the middle of the arena, both staring at each other.

"GONG YE TAMPAI!" Wuya shouted, before charging headfirst at Chase.


	17. Wreckage

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: WRECKAGE

Omi and Raimundo trudged through the charcoal black ruins of the Temple. The structure of the temple had diminished completely, leaving nothing but the blackened wood of the once proud Temple behind. The ruins were still smoking and what was left of the temple was damp, but every inch of the fire had been extinguished. Clay was leaning against a broken post of the Temple, attempting to rest his sore leg. Dojo was sobbing silently on Clay's soldier and had been ever since he realised Master Fung was still inside the Temple when the fireball hit the Temple. All of them were covered in ash, soot and sweat. They had exhausted themselves putting out the flames.

"There's still no sign of Master Fung…" Raimundo said quietly as Omi glanced around the ruins nervously.

"I guess we should look for… the bodies…" Omi said softly. A loud wail emerged from Dojo, who blew his nose on Clay's robes loudly. Clay was disgusted, but said nothing to Dojo about it. Omi bowed his head sadly, tears welling in his eyes. Master Fung was raised Omi from a small child, and although he was his teacher, Omi had also considered him to be somewhat of his fatherly figure. Raimundo looked at the floor, feeling as though watching Omi well up was too uncomfortable.

To the monks, it seemed as though all hope was lost. Without a leader, they would never finish their training as Xiaolin Warriors, and if they never advance to the correct stage, they would never be able to become the advanced warriors that they needed to become in order to save the world from evil. They would need to be stronger than they were to defeat Chase Young; especially now Kimiko was no longer among them.

"I can't believe Kim did this…" Raimundo said after a long an awkward silence. He sat down on a blackened lump, which he assumed used to be a chair of some sort. Clay nodded in approval and Omi said nothing for a long time. He just stared at the floor, looking as though he was about to burst into tears at any second.

"We have to stop her… don't we?" Omi eventually said, "She has truly become what I feared she would." Raimundo looked up at Omi as he spoke. Omi avoided his gaze and diverted his attention to a smoking pile of ash on the floor so that Raimundo would not see the tears which spilled from his eyes.

"Yes Omi… We do…" Raimundo walked towards the tiny monk and put his tanned hand upon his shoulder. Omi bowed his head sadly, looking at the ground. Raimundo noticed a few water droplets falling to the floor from Omi's face. Raimundo patted his back sympathetically in an attempt to comfort him. He turned to Dojo, who blew his nose noisily on Clay's robes again.

"Dojo," Raimundo addressed the tiny green dragon, "I want you to do something for us." The dragon looked at Raimundo. "I want you to circle the surrounding area and see if this…" Raimundo paused for a moment but then continued, "-has happened anywhere else." He noticed Clay raise his eyebrows. "Just in case…" he added hastily.

Dojo sniffed and nodded. He hopped down from Clay's shoulder and transformed into the giant dragon they were so familiar with. Dojo disappeared into the sky as the monks watched him go.

"Y'know Rai, I reckon you're gonna' be a great leader some day." Clay told Raimundo in an attempt to cheer up Omi. Omi would usually have been infuriated that Clay would say something so kind to Raimundo and not him, but Omi appeared not to notice that Clay had even spoken at all. Raimundo smiled slightly at the cowboy.

There was a small jingling sound and the grinding sound of rock moving. Raimundo, Omi and Clay snapped their heads, looking for the source of the noise. The monks noticed a blackened figure rising from the floor. Slowly, many men rose from the floor. The monks stared, not quite sure what to feel; scared, confused, defensive?

It was a while before the monks suddenly realised who the blackened figures were.

"MASTER FUNG!" Omi screamed and ran to the figure, leaping on top of him and hugging him tightly.

"Master Fung?"

"What?"

Raimundo and Clay clicked at the same time. The figures were the older Xiaolin Monks, who had risen from inside the Shen Gong Wu Vault. The jingling noise had been the sound of the bells, which opened and closed the vault, and the sound of grinding rock had been the vault opening.

"You have done well." Master Fung's voice was hoarse and dry, barely more than a whisper. He remained rigid and stiff while Omi clung to him. He cleared his throat and the tiny monk dropped off his body, smiling apologetically, blinking away the tears in his eyes.

"Master Fung… I can't believe you're alive!" Clay said in delight.

The old monks wearily looked at Clay. Clay hopped over to them on his crutches while Raimundo raised his eyebrows.

"Guys, we gotta take them to the cave first. They need to rest." Raimundo told Omi and Clay, who turned around to face him. When they registered what he had said, Omi and Clay looked at the older monks, who looked tired and weary. Omi and Clay nodded at Raimundo.

Master Fung looked at Raimundo with pride. The young boy was caring, loyal and showed the skill of true leadership. Master Fung allowed a smile to form on his blackened face before nodding at them, thanking Raimundo without words. The other old monks muttered amongst themselves. Raimundo and Clay began to make their way through the smouldering ruins, with several old, tired and weary monks hobbling behind them. Omi went down into the opened vault and grabbed what Shen Gong Wu were in there. It didn't seem safe to leave them all in the vault when they were no longer being guarded. Omi emerged from the Vault carrying a tower of Shen Gong Wu, which were not only heavy, but also the pile was bigger than Omi. He began to trudge after his friends, the Shen Gong Wu safe in his arms.

Kimiko had been observing the Xiaolin Showdown for over forty-five minutes and Kimiko would have bet her life on the winner. They had both been fighting, and there was no question that Wuya was trying her best, but Chase had not even been struck properly. Every time Wuya got near him, he knocked her back and she charged again. They were both moving at lightning speeds and Kimiko was having difficulty to see anything well from her seat in the stands of the Coliseum.

Within the first few seconds of the match starting, Chase had knocked down Wuya, when she snapped her fingers and four of her stone warriors rose from the floor. They had somehow managed to distract Chase for long enough for her to get back onto her feet and charge again. He destroyed them effortlessly, but they seemed to infuriate him. Kimiko watched silently, but she was sure that Chase viewed Wuya using her stone warriors as cheating. Chase was too honourable to do the same to Wuya, even if his jungle cats would tear her apart. They were tougher than they looked; a fact Kimiko knew all too well. Privately, Kimiko wondered whether Wuya had used her stone warriors because she knew she was going to struggle against Chase.

Since then, Wuya and Chase were both moving far too fast for Kimiko tell anything other than that they both wanted to win, particularly Wuya. Kimiko could hear her grunting with effort, which mean that she was most likely struggling.

Wuya ducked out of the way of Chase's blow and aimed a kick to his chest, which he dodged and swept his leg along hers, knocking her on the floor. He approached her, ready to see if she surrendered, but she got back up and hardened her glare towards him. Chase stood, with his arms behind his back and eyes closed, waiting for her to attack. Wuya leapt towards him again, aiming to claw at Chase with her sharp nails; a manoeuvre Kimiko felt was sure to mean desperation. Wuya somehow managed to catch Chase's cheek as he ducked, leaving a shallow slice in his face across his cheekbone. Chase reacted to this by gritting his teeth and simply flicking Wuya on her chest. The sheer power in Chase was incredible. Wuya fell backwards onto the sand and lay there, breathless

"Do you surrender?" Chase asked her coldly, not even doing her the courtesy of looking at her. Chase glanced towards the tiny girl in the stands, watching them both. Wuya bared her teeth,

"It should have been me!" Wuya gasped.

The magic of the showdown vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Kimiko blinked at she was back in Chase's home, leaning on the arm of Chase's throne. Chase was sat in his throne, with the back of Shen Gong Wu at his feet.

"At least she will keep her word." Chase smirked, looking at the door on the opposite side of the room.

Kimiko only managed to see her foot and see a flash of black disappear behind a closing door. She thought she heard a sob echoing through Chase's home. Kimiko couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"Master Fung, are you feeling better now?" Omi asked the old monk, who was looking much better already. He had changed his robes and washed the soot off his face. He looked almost normal again.

"Yes, thank you, Omi."

The monks were back in the shelter of their cave again, with a small fire to cook their dinner on, which was only a small portion of rice each, since most of the food they had stored when they had first arrived at the cave, Clay and Raimundo had snacked on greedily. Clay was sitting in the corner of the cave, leaning against the back wall, carving some sort of animal into a block of wood with his blade. Raimundo was positioned at the cave of the mouth. He had been watching the skies for the return of Dojo for an hour and he was starting to worry. Raimundo leaned against the side of the cave and sighed.

"Master Fung, however did you survive the fire? It was most hot and deadly." Omi watched Master Fung with clear fascination and it could not have been more obvious that Omi was in awe of him.

"Once I realised what Kimiko was about to do, I sealed myself and the other monks inside the vault. We travelled to the bottom of the stairs, where there is a secret exit for occasions such as this. We hid for a while, then we returned." Master Fung said simply.

"But what about the fire and the smoke?" Omi asked, leaning too close to the fire and suddenly feeling a great heat upon his nose. He snorted and pulled away, not taking his eyes off Master Fung.

"Fire rises, Omi. There was a small air shaft built in, which supplied us with clean air as we waited."

Raimundo couldn't help but feel that Master Fung's story was very boring and vague, but he didn't mind. He was busy concentrating on the skies.

"Why would Kimiko do such a thing, Master Fung?" Omi asked after a while.

"Because it was what she has been told to do." He replied simply, watching the fire cackle.

"You mean, she's obeying Chase?" Raimundo snapped his head up at Master Fung.

"Did you expect her to do any different in her position? She is loyal to him now, young monk. You must remember that she is obligated to follow his orders." Master Fung turned his gaze to Raimundo.

"Yeah. That, and the fact that Chase'll prob'ly hurt her if she even tries disobeyin' him." Clay piped up from the corner, checking his wooden sculpture.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Raimundo said, "I mean, she would have tried to apologise to us or something." He stopped for a moment and swallowed noisily. "She's not Kimiko anymore. She's been brainwashed. I want to help her guys, but I don't think we can after this." Raimundo stared into his lap as he spoke, not meeting any of their eyes.

"Be cautious, young monks. Kimiko is not acting of her own accord." Master Fung warned.

"She seemed pretty happy to burn the Temple to me." Raimundo mumbled and glanced at Omi and Clay, who nodded in agreement.

Each of the Xiaolin Dragons knew exactly what the other two were thinking. They were all thinking the same thing.

_We're going to have to kill her. _

"Goodnight Kimiko." Chase bowed to her as he continued down the corridor to what Kimiko assumed what his bedroom. She nodded politely back and opened the door to her own bedroom. She had planned to lie on her bed for a little while and attempt to get some sleep, but to her surprise, there was someone on it already.

The figure flew at Kimiko before she had time to react.

Its' long fingers curled around her neck, wrapping themselves uncomfortably tight. Kimiko gasped in shock and tried to pull their hands away from her neck. She coughed as the fingers squeezed too tightly on her neck, restricting her breathing. She gasped for breath.

"Wuya!" She spluttered, still trying to prize her fingers away from her neck. Kimiko was just about to summon her element when Wuya flung her head towards the corner of the bed, still squeezing her neck. Kimiko's head collided painfully with the corner. Wuya's hands knotted into her hair and she growled mercilessly as she slammed Kimiko's face into the bedpost again. Kimiko cried out; her head felt like it was going to explode from the sheer pain. Something wet began to trickle down from her eyebrow, which was throbbing painfully where she had hit the bedpost the second time. Kimiko's chest ached for some oxygen, but the grip on her throat was too tight.

The room blurred and Kimiko strength vanished almost instantly. She stopped trying to pull Wuya off her and attempted to use her element, but she was too weak and the fire that was usually bubbling close to her surface seemed to have vanished along with her strength. Kimiko's arms dropped helplessly to her side and her legs collapsed under her. Her lungs were screaming for help or air.

"You deserve this, you thieving little bitch." Wuya snarled in her ear, "You stole what was mine. Together, Chase and me could have turned this pathetic excuse of a world into something beautiful. I never understood why he wanted you, but I'm pretty sure with you out of the picture, things will be a lot different around here." Wuya kept whispering into Kimiko's ear, but she didn't catch any of it. The room blurred and faded into darkness.

As Kimiko's mind slowed down, she couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness. She'd finally been released. She was free once again.


	18. Plans

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: PLANS

"He's back!" Shouted Raimundo to the other monks in the cave, who snapped their heads in the direction. Sure enough, there was a thin green streak in the sky, which was growing clearer by the second.

Dojo had been gone a long time. It was almost midnight already.

"Wait, he's got someone with him…" Raimundo said as he shielded his eyes with his hand, trying to see whom the tiny figure looking over the edge of the dragon was.

"Is it Kim?" Clay hopped over on his crutches excitedly, looking up at Dojo, who was lowering himself outside the cave.

"No…" Raimundo's heart sank. He hadn't known why they had thought it was Kimiko, she couldn't come back even if she wanted to, which he doubted she did. "It's not."

Master Fung was sitting by the fire still, but he looked up as Dojo lowered to the ground and shrunk back into his tiny size. The person on his back landed swiftly on his feet. Omi rushed to Clay and Raimundo's side to see the new person.

"You guys are Omi, Clay and Raimundo, right?" Jimmy asked as he looked up at the three boys staring at him.

They all nodded in unison.

"Dojo, who is this?" Clay asked the small green dragon.

"This is Jimmy, I found him shouting for help as I was flying back. I went to investigate and well… I'll let him tell you the rest." He said.

Raimundo, Omi and Clay all stared at Jimmy, who felt uncomfortable as they scrutinised him. He was focusing on the promise he'd made to the girl who had saved his life. He wished he knew her name.

"You have to help us! There was this girl who attacked my village. She took everyone and told them they were going to serve under someone called 'Chase'. She burned everything effortlessly, it was like she could control fire or something, and she had all these big cats with her, like lions and tigers. They all followed her like she was their leader. You have to save my village! She took them somewhere and you guys have to help me get my parents back!" Jimmy finished, finally taking a breath.

The Xiaolin monks exchanged worried glances.

"What did she look like?" Raimundo asked, but he already knew the answer.

"She had black hair and she wore black robes. She didn't even bat an eyelid as she burned everything that I've ever known." Jimmy was finding it hard to remember why he was even here. He should have stayed with his parents. How could he be so sure that she would keep her word?

"Yeah, that's her alright." Clay turned around and made his way to the corner of the cave.

Master Fung appeared behind Omi and Raimundo to observe Jimmy. Master Fung squinted his eye for a moment, then made a satisfied noise that his observation was correct.

"So, you're telling me that Kim burned your village?" Raimundo asked Jimmy, who nodded.

"Did she have anyone with her? Like, a tall guy with long black hair. Doesn't smile a lot? He's got weird eyes?" Raimundo couldn't hide the hope in his voice.

"No, she was alone. But she said she was under orders to kill if anyone refused to go with her." Jimmy told them, unsure whether he was doing the right thing.

"You should have heard her, guys." Dojo piped up. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. He was clearly still shocked. "She wasn't like Kimiko at all. She sounded just like _him. _She was so forceful. I'm telling you, guys, that wasn't Kimiko. She's turned into him."

"Her name's Kimiko?" Jimmy asked. Omi nodded slowly and turned around.

Master Fung spoke then for the first time.

"Kimiko is only doing as instructed."

"No, Master Fung. Kimiko isn't Kimiko anymore. The Kimiko I knew would have fought against Chase!" Raimundo snapped. "She would have defied him! She wouldn't have strolled into a village and burned everything! You're wrong! If Chase instructed her to do it, why wasn't he with her? He obviously trusts her enough for her to do it by herself now! I don't know about you guys, but to me, Kimiko's gone. We all know that we have to take her and Chase down."

Master Fung shook his head slowly, but said no more. He returned to his place by the fire.

"Jimmy." Omi looked at him, "If what you're saying is true, how did you escape?"

Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. "I managed to run as she moved us through the forest. She sent those cats after me, but I swam across a lake so they wouldn't follow me. I was wondering around looking for someone to help when Dojo flew down and said that you would help me."

"Omi, why don't you get some food and water for Jimmy? He must be hungry." Raimundo patted Omi on the shoulder and Omi moved to the fire to fetch a small portion of rice for Jimmy, who walked into the dwelling.

"Clay… Could you come here for a second?" Raimundo stood outside the cave so that he and Clay could speak in private. Clay hopped over.

"You know we're going to have to take her down?" Raimundo's heart sank horribly as he said the words that he hoped he'd never hear. Clay nodded, looking just as miserable.

"Chase has broken her completely. I don't think Omi could do it, if it came to it. It'll be hard to do… when we finally get the chance. But it's not going to be easy, but when there's an opportunity to… do it, we have to take advantage." Raimundo whispered to Clay, who was nodding sadly.

"I hear ya', Rai. But I reckon' we should let the lil' guy come with us when we go. He's our strongest fighter and he's gonna help us a lot." Clay stopped for a moment. "I'm not sure I can do it, Rai. I mean, our job is to save people, not kill them. Are you sure you could do it, because I'm not sure I can? I don't think I could do it to anyone, let alone someone who used to be one of us, partner…"

"I know, Clay, but the sacrifice of one evil life for a hundred good lives is a fair sacrifice." Raimundo was trying to keep this in mind.

"But Rai, what if Master Fung's right, and she's not really evil?"

"How can she not be? You've heard what she's done." Raimundo folded his arms.

Clay stared at the moon. "I suppose you're right, partner."

"We have to start planning the infiltration." Raimundo looked at the moon too.

A terrible sadness weighed down Raimundo's heart. His subconscious was telling him that Master Fung was right, but his head told him that he was wrong. He was confused, but Raimundo was certain of one thing. If it came to it, Raimundo would kill her. He would hate to do it, but Raimundo had to think of how many lives he could save by taking Kimiko's. Raimundo guessed that he would have to be the one to do it. Clay and Omi would hesitate for too long.

_I'm going to have to kill my best friend… _The words echoed in his mind, over and over again.

"It's my fault…" He whispered after a long time. Clay turned his head towards him.

"What is, buddy?"

"That she's there." Raimundo carried on staring at the moon.

"No it isn't. It's no one's fault."

"Clay, don't you remember the night she left? If Chase hadn't caught me, she wouldn't have given up." Raimundo touched the scar on his neck where the blade Chase had held to his neck had left a shallow cut.

"Rai, we all thought Kim would stay on our side. I never thought I'd see her on the Heylin side, be we just gotta accept that she ain't with us anymore. It ain't your fault, you would've done the same for her. We all would've."

"Hmm." Raimundo responded.

He wondered if Kimiko knew that she was going to die at the hands of her former friend, or if she thought she was invincible, just like all evil people seemed to do.

Little did he know, at the moment in time, she was dying in someone else's hands.

She could hear shallow breathing. It was quiet, but definite. Slowly, Kimiko's mind seemed to start working again. Kimiko's own breaths were long and slow. She opened her eyes slowly, which were glazed and unfocused. She saw a blur of grey, until she blinked again. Her eyes slid into focus slightly, and she could make out that she was in her bedroom at Chase's home, lying on her bed. She slowly sat upright, bringing her arms, which felt like dead weights, to her sore neck. She gasped when she touched her neck, as pain shot through her.

"You have a nasty bruise there and a shallow cut above your right eyebrow. You've also got a bruise on your forehead and a black eye, but no lasting damage as far as I can tell." A sly voice whispered from somewhere to Kimiko's left. She slowly turned her stiff neck towards the source of the noise, which made her whole body ache and pain shoot through her again.

"Don't strain yourself." Chase warned. He was leaning in the doorway casually, staring at her.

Kimiko stretched her arms and legs. The feeling seemed to return to them as she did so.

"What happened to Wuya?" Kimiko was surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded. She sounded like she'd been smoking for too long. She coughed and her throat stung painfully.

"She is gone now. I doubt she will be back." Chase told her. He folded his arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

"How long was I… out for?" She asked, ignoring the stinging pain in her throat.

"Luckily, I got to you in time. Seconds later, you would have died. You were only out for a few seconds. I gave you something to make you sleep straight away. You will heal faster if you rest." Chase informed her.

"Does this mean I don't have to train?" Kimiko asked hopefully.

"I suppose I can let you off for a few days, since you almost died." Chase cracked a smile.

"I'll leave you to get some more rest now." He turned on his heel and closed the door swiftly behind him.

Kimiko lay back down in bed for a while, but she felt too energized to sleep. Slowly, she climbed out of bed. She slowly and stiffly made her way to the mirror on the opposite side of the room. After hobbling over, she looked in the mirror and almost fainted.

Her whole face and neck area was a mass of blue. Kimiko looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was only ten in the morning, which meant it had been nine hours since the incident at the most. It was unusual for someone to bruise this badly is such a short space of time, but Kimiko assumed this was only because of the scale of the incident.

Kimiko looked at her face closely; her right eye was swollen slightly and blackened. There was a shallow slash just above her right eyebrow and a large bump on her forehead. She gasped when she saw her neck. Where Wuya's hands had wrapped around her neck were large bruises, which made it quite obvious what had happened to her.

She sat back on the bed.

Kimiko remembered the feeling she had got before she had lost consciousness. It was like she was free at last. It had felt wonderful and she hoped that she would soon feel it again. She wondered if she would feel the same way when she died. Remembering that she had sent Jimmy to find the Dragons, Kimiko wondered how long it would be before they finally came for her and ended her life.

The thought of Jimmy made her remember that Kimiko still had to keep her end of the bargain. She opened her bedroom door and peeked outside into the corridor. It was completely empty. There wasn't even a jungle cat outside Chase's bedroom door. She hobbled down the corridor, slowly making her way towards the dungeons.

The villagers had been shoved into cells in the dungeons. There were four in each cell, which made finding Jimmy's parents very time consuming for Kimiko. She was bombarded by abuse from the moment she opened the door to the dungeon. One angry male had even thrown a piece of stale bread at her. Some had shouted that her bruises were well deserved.

If Kimiko hadn't been so pre-occupied with finding Jimmy's parents, she would have stopped and apologised for her behaviour, or been upset that they would say such things to her.

After looking through rows and rows of cells, she finally found Jimmy's parents. His mother was sobbing in the arms of her husband, who was leaning against the stone walls of the cell.

"Are you Jimmy's parents?" Kimiko asked through the bars of the cell.

"You!" The mother screamed, flinging herself at the bars of the cell, aiming punches at Kimiko. The dungeon fell silent. "You killed my son!" She screeched. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were bloodshot and red.

"No! I didn't! Please listen to me!" Kimiko's hoarse voice was barely audible over her screams. Kimiko grabbed her wrists as she aimed punches through the bars and repeated herself, staring Jimmy's mother in the eyes.

"I didn't kill your son."

"Get off my wife!" Her husband shouted, pulling her back.

"You're a liar. You killed my boy…" She broke into sobs again.

"I didn't kill him. He's alive. He went to get help." Kimiko told her, releasing her wrists.

"You mean, my Jimmy is alive?" She stared at Kimiko with hope in her eyes.

"I had to move you all along so I could make a deal with him. I asked him to go and find some… help… They're going to come here and take down Chase and me. Then you can be with him again. They're going to take care of him until then. He's safe with them." Kimiko told her.

"Why would you do that?" The husband asked, staring at Kimiko.

"Because I'm just as much a prisoner as you are." Kimiko replied.


	19. Close

CHAPTER NINETEEN – CLOSE

Raimundo, Clay and Omi were huddled around the fire in the cave, trying to keep warm. It was remarkable how much colder it was in the cave than in the Temple, especially at night.

"Raimundo, I do not think that is a very good plan." Omi said quietly, so as not to wake up Dojo and Master Fung, not to mention the other monks sleeping further into the cave. Clay nodded in agreement.

"Sorry partner, but I reckon Omi's right. We ain't gonna be able to win that way." Clay whispered.

Raimundo folded his arms defensively.

"What other choice do we have? Kim and Chase could attack another village in a few hours. We have to act."

Jimmy's voice came looming from the shady darkness of the cave.

"I want to help."

The monks snapped their heads towards him as he walked out from the shadows and sat with them at the fire, which seemed to be slowly dying.

"Jimmy, acting against Chase Young is most dangerous, especially for a villager like you. You should leave it up to us, highly trained Xiaolin Dragons." Omi puffed his chest up proudly.

"No, my family are in there. I want to help them, and your plan sucks. I've got a better idea." Jimmy leant forwards to whisper his plan, when Raimundo scoffed. Jimmy turned his head towards Raimundo and shot him a questioning look. Raimundo shrugged as if nothing had happened and Jimmy began.

"How about if I go in there, looking for this 'Chase'. I can demand for my parents, distract him and those cats long enough for you guys to get in another way. Then you guys can get him while I go and find my parents."

"I gotta say, partner, that's a mighty awful plan." Clay frowned. Raimundo nodded.

"You could be killed." Omi pointed out.

"I won't go down without a fight, and it's the perfect opportunity for you guys to get the upper hand. If you want that advantage, it's crucial that I stay alive long enough to help you all. So, I distract him, hopefully for long enough, then you guys can come in and help." Jimmy knew his plan was terrible, but he knew that the monks would kill 'Chase', giving him enough time to find Kimiko and get her to tell him where his parents were.

"Might not be a bad idea if we use the Shroud of Shadows on ourselves. That way, we can get in there and take down Chase before he hurts Jimmy too bad." Clay thought for a moment, lifting his hat with his thumb. Raimundo was sat with his arms folded, while Omi was scratching his head thoughtfully.

Jimmy watched them for a while, but he soon found his thoughts straying back to Kimiko. He hoped, although he wasn't sure why, that she was doing okay and that 'Chase' hadn't found out that Kimiko had let him go. He wondered what this 'Chase' would do if he found out.

He heard furious whispers and he was dragged away from his thoughts and brought back to the cave with an unpleasant bump. Omi, Raimundo and Clay were discussing the best way to get into Chase's home. They were so close to each other, all whispering over the top of each other so that they would hear their personal points of view.

"Guys… this 'Chase' character, how bad is he?" Jimmy asked, twirling his fingers, trying to look innocent and curious. "Just out of curiosity." He added on quickly to secure himself.

"Bad." Raimundo said, "Very bad. When we think of evil, that dude is who we think of. I just hate the bastard for turning Kim against us." Raimundo turned his head away. Jimmy averted his gaze guiltily. He wanted to tell them that Kimiko wasn't really evil, that she was good, sill trying to help them, but he remembered his promise.

Jimmy bit his lip and hoped dearly that Chase hadn't found out that Kimiko had let him go, if Chase found out what she'd done, Jimmy knew enough now to know that poor Kimiko would be in terrible danger. He hoped she was okay. But despite this, his parents were still his main concern. Jimmy hoped that she had kept her end of the bargain, just as he had done. He thought of his parents and prayed that they were safe.

Kimiko went left the dungeons silently. The prisoners were quieter as she moved to leave. Some of them seemed to realise that she was there to help them all out and gave her a slight smile as she walked past their cells. She slowly opened the dungeon door and peered through the crack to check the coast was clear.

Her heart skipped a beat, as she saw Chase and three jungle cats striding towards the dungeon's door. Panicking, she ran, as fast as her sore and aching body would let her. Her footsteps were loud and her breathing was heavy as she ran back down the dungeon, close to the last cells in the room. She dived for the small gap between the cell and the wall, forcing her body down the small crevice. She moved just out of the way in time, as light flooded where her foot had been moments ago. She heard the thudding of soft paws and shoes against the stone floor, slowly growing closer. Kimiko moved silently but quickly. The gap was getting smaller and smaller, meaning that Kimiko could not push herself into the gap any further. Kimiko could no longer see him; she could just hear him getting closer. Kimiko was panicking.

She knew, all too well, what could happen if she was caught defying Chase again. She would have shuddered if she had the room. She dismissed the thought, quicker than it had appeared and looked around for something to aid her. She looked to the left, where she could see Chase's shadow approaching. She reached her arm around to the right, hoping to reach the edge of the cell and pull herself along some more, but she couldn't reach that far. Being sandwiched between the cell and the wall was incredibly painful for Kimiko. Too much pressure was being applied to her bruised skin.

She turned her head to the left, waiting. Waiting for when he would appear in the crack between the wall and the cell, for when he would catch her.

Beat her. Hurt her. Rape her.

The seconds passed so slowly. His footsteps grew uncomfortably close.

Too close.

_Any second now._

And then…

The footsteps stopped, and then when they started, they gradually got quieter. Chase's shadow slowly vanished from the wall. The door slammed shut, leaving Kimiko in the dark. She took a deep breath and steadied herself, before wriggling out of the crevice. She put her hands on her knees and took another breath, clutching her chest.

"Why do you work for him?" A small child had approached the bars of her cell, close to where Kimiko was standing. She was all alone in her cell, except from a small, tatty rag doll, which was dangling from her hand.

"Because I have to…" Kimiko said quietly to the small girl, bending down so that she was at eye level with her.

"Casey says that you're going to help us though." The girl whispered through the bars, holding up the small rag doll to show Kimiko.

Kimiko smiled, trying to hide her sadness, but she could tell she was doing a poor job. She took the doll from the small girls hands. Kimiko stared at the tiny doll in her hands for a moment. Her mind was taking her back to when she was a child. She was reminded how her father had showered with gifts of the latest technology and bags full of the latest clothes. She missed that life. Kimiko wondered that if she ever left Chase's home, she would be able to go home and say goodbye to her father. She knew that if she was ever allowed to leave, she could not go back to her old way of life. No matter how hard she tried to. If it came to it, or the Xiaolin Dragons failed to kill her, Kimiko silently promised herself that she could take her own life. Only this time, she would not be saved.

Kimiko passed the doll back to the small girl.

"Well, I'd better try to help then, hadn't I?" Kimiko whispered to her and she smiled.

She turned away from the cell and began walking towards the door again.

"Wait." Jimmy's mothers voice called. Kimiko froze and turned around to look at her. "What's your name?" She asked quietly.

"Kimiko." Her eyes stared into Jimmy's mothers' eyes. It was almost as if she could see right into Kimiko's soul. It would usually have made her uncomfortable, but it felt reassuring in her situation.

"Kimiko, if you really have saved Jimmy, then thank you."

She smiled politely and approached the door again.

After peering cautiously out, she left the dungeon. She half-hopped, half ran down the corridor back towards her bedroom. Her heart seemed to pound furiously in her ears; a rhythmic beat which urged her forward. She hurried as fast as she could.

"Okay, so, run me by this one more time?" Dojo folded his tiny arms, looking up sceptically at the four teenagers.

They were all stood outside the cave's mouth in the early hours of the morning. Master Fung and the older monks were still asleep inside and Clay, Omi, Raimundo and Jimmy were standing around Dojo, encircling him. They had been trying to convince him to aid them on their infiltration of Chase's home, but poor Dojo was terrified. He didn't want to ever see Kimiko like that again, if the truth was told, he was frightened of her now. Seeing Kimiko act like a female version of Chase had made Dojo realise how much he missed her. Whether she was hacking into someone's email or shopping online, Kimiko used to always be around, showing the other monks her finds on the Internet; Dojo wondered how Kimiko would be doing without all her gadgets and gizmos.

"Right," Jimmy started, just as Raimundo was about to speak. Jimmy's presence seemed to irritate Raimundo, which Jimmy found amusing. Although he wanted their help, he couldn't resist winding him up a little bit.

"I'll go into Chase's home and demand my parents back from Cha-" Jimmy was cut short by Raimundo.

"I'm altering the plan, if that's cool with you guys?" He looked at Omi and Clay, purposely leaving out Jimmy, who looked rather disgruntled.

"Instead of _him_," Raimundo flicked his thumb towards Jimmy, "going into Chase's home. I wondered if I should go. I'll be able to hold him off for a lot longer. Long enough for you guys to find me and step in if things get ugly. Then, you guys can take over, and I'll go free the prisoners and check for other things." Raimundo stared at Clay when he'd mentioned checking for 'other things', by this, he meant to find Kimiko and kill her.

"What if Kimiko is with him when you arrive?" Omi asked curiously.

"Then I'll hold them both off. Piece of cake." Raimundo said, folding his arms.

"Partner, I'm not thinkin' that's a great idea." Clay said,

"And Jimmy's is better, is it?" Raimundo snapped.

"Chase might take pity on me..." Jimmy said, "If you go, he'll know you're there for a fight." Jimmy was subconsciously frowning. He was suspicious of the way Raimundo had said 'other things'.

"I am not sure about this, my friends. I believe we should discuss this some more." Omi said, scratching his head, looking confused.

Clay raises his hat slightly with his thumb and nodded. He strode back towards the cave; Dojo and Omi close behind him.

When Raimundo turned to leave, Jimmy grabbed his arm. For a moment, Raimundo looked as though he might punch Jimmy, but he turned to look at him, considerably calmer.

"When you said 'other things', what did you mean?" Jimmy looked straight into Raimundo's eyes, ready to see if he would tell a lie.

"You know, just as much as me, that someone's going to have to kill Kim." Raimundo pulled his arm away from the teens grasp, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"You can't." Jimmy bit his lip and looked away from Raimundo, who stared.

"Why not? You saw what she did!"

"Because…" For a moment, Jimmy glanced into Raimundo's eyes and almost faltered. If he told Kimiko's secret, Jimmy would be breaking his promise – something that he swore he'd never do. "Because if there's a chance that she's not 100% evil, surely you should do everything you possibly could do to get her back _before _you kill her?" Jimmy spoke almost too quickly, putting extra emphasis on the word 'before' to try and make Raimundo feel guilty.

When Jimmy looked at Raimundo, he looked like he might burst into tears.

"I don't know what to do…" His lip trembled and Jimmy stood awkwardly, feeling guilty for keeping her secret. He bit his lip to silence himself, thinking of the promise he'd made.

Raimundo sat on the grassy floor, putting his head in his hands and running his fingers through his spiked hair.

"What would you have me do Jimmy? Kimiko could be exactly like _him_ and I can't do anything to change that!" His voice was cracking, almost like he was trying to hold in his tears.

Jimmy was usually quite socially awkward and he didn't think he'd ever felt more uncomfortable.

"I think you should try." He said quietly, "When we infiltrate and you find her, I don't think you should kill her. You should do everything that is humanly possible to save her." Jimmy was trying to be tactful and hint that Kimiko wasn't evil and to motivate Raimundo enough for him to produce some hope, but he was still looking in his lap.

"I thought I loved her for a while, you know." Raimundo spoke quietly. He had no idea why he was telling Jimmy this. He blamed the tears that were threatening to leak from his eyes.

"When I first got here, I though I loved her. She was so different from all the girls back in Brazil. We were really close, maybe closer to each other than to the others. I never thought I'd see her fighting for the other side. It was always meant to be me that made the mistakes. _I _was the one who went to the dark side, not her. Why did he want her? Why couldn't he have taken me?"

Jimmy was stood, looking down pitifully upon Raimundo, when he suddenly slammed his fist onto the ground, sending mini hurricanes along the grass in different directions, pulling up plants in their path and discarding them behind themselves. Raimundo lifted his head slowly, baring his teeth.

"I'll kill him for doing this to her…" He growled, "Then, I'm going to get her back and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to save her. I'm not going to let her die, and I'm not going to kill her."

Jimmy smiled, crossing his fingers that Raimundo would keep his promise and let Kimiko live.

Clay, on the other hand, was deep in thought. Sat around the fire in the tent, which was slowly boiling a pot of water to make the monks some tea, he was scratching his chin. He had considered the possibility that Raimundo might not kill Kimiko. A fool could see that Raimundo and Kim had always had a special bond that she didn't have with himself or Omi. Clay wondered that if Raimundo was unable to do it, if he, himself would be able to still her heart.

_It has to be done, and if Rai won't, I'm gonna have to do it myself. _


	20. Too Soon

CHAPTER TWENTY: TOO SOON

"Kimiko?" Chase's voice boomed through his home, causing her to jump slightly.

"Coming!" She called back, climbing down from her bed and putting down the scroll she had been reading previously. With a small sigh, she left her room and followed the sound of his voice.

When she reached Chase, he was perched on the edge of his throne, looking rather bored, resting his head on one hand.

"Kimiko, I grow restless and I will not delay our plans any longer, I wish for you to invade the neighbouring villages within a one-hundred mile radius of here." Kimiko tried not to let her discomfort at the thought of this task show.

"That's quite a big area; I don't think I could do that all in one day." Kimiko said, scratching her head.

"Take as long as you need, just get it done. Kill those who refuse and burn their homes. Take as many of my warriors as you need." Chase told her sternly and stood up from his seat abruptly. "Do not keep me waiting." Without a second glance at her, he left the room, almost slamming the door behind him. She stared at the door as it closed, surprised.

_What's got you so anxious all of a sudden?_

Raimundo sighed. He was growing impatient. He couldn't understand why they couldn't act on their plan immediately. For all they knew, more people had been taken by Kimiko to serve Chase. He leant against the inside wall of the cave with his arms folded. Jimmy was sat silently in the corner, staring at his feet. Clay was sitting around the fire, which was boiling a pot of water, and he was whittling a small piece of wood using a knife. They had instructed Dojo to circle the area, to see if he could spot Kimiko again. Dojo turned into his full size and stretched, groaning lightly.

"I'm just about to head off to see if I can spot Kim." He told Raimundo, who stood upright.

"Wait." Raimundo called, running towards Dojo, who stared at him. Jimmy and Clay also lifted their heads.

"Rai, partner, where are you going?"

"I can't sit around here any longer. I can't do nothing while they could be out there killing innocent people. Let's go, Dojo." Raimundo climbed up on Dojo's giant, scaly back with ease, sitting comfortably on him.

"Now don't you be goin' an' doin' anything stupid, Rai." Clay warned, shooting a nervous glance at Jimmy. Clay knew how reckless Raimundo could be when he was impatient.

"I'm fine, I just need some air." Raimundo said. He was slightly agitated by the lack of progress. Clay and Jimmy seemed to be waiting for something to happen. They weren't even planning when their assault would take place. The thought of doing nothing made Raimundo feel sick. He needed to do something.

With that, Dojo pushed off from the floor and began soaring upwards. Raimundo sighed as the reached a respectable height.

"So what's the real reason you wanted to get out of there?" Dojo asked, looking below him at the villages below him, watching for any figures in black.

"I'm sick of the guys doing nothing." Raimundo answered quietly.

Dojo nodded, making his body wobble and Raimundo bounce up and down. "I guessed as much." Raimundo was silent for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the wind through his hair. He felt lost, as though he didn't have anyone to talk to. Raimundo began speaking again as they passed the village that Kimiko had burned. He felt his stomach sink as he realised just how bad Kimiko had gone.

"I just... I know Kim, if she was in the right state of mind would want us to try and do something to stop her. Kim's not herself anymore; I know that I have to try and sto-"

"Oh no..." Dojo muttered.

"What?" Raimundo looked over the side of Dojo, who started to fly lower. They were slowly getting closer to another village. The habitants were all gathered in a huddle in the middle of the village. Surrounding them was a few of Chase's jungle cats, and they were all facing one thing in particular; a black figure.

Raimundo's throat went dry instantly and he could suddenly hear his heartbeat in his ears.

_Kim..._


	21. Sorry

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: SORRY

After seeing a clearly troubled Raimundo disappear with Dojo, Jimmy stood up. Now was the time for action. Jimmy could plainly see that Raimundo was growing tetchy, and Clay knew it too. Clay looked nervous.

"I should have gone with him." Clay said, pacing the mouth of the cave, glancing towards the sky again. "He could rope Dojo into all kinds of trouble. I should have gone with him. Rai gets real nervous and tends to do somethin' stupid when nothin' happens for a while." Clay used his thumb to scratch his head, and then sighed nervously.

_It's now or never. I have to do something. Clay's nervous of what Raimundo might do. I have to tell him. _

"I have a confession, Clay." Jimmy trembled as Clay looked at him, "You remember all that stuff I said about ... Kimiko... when I first came here?"

Clay looked at him with raised eyebrows, and Jimmy trembled more, but still made an effort to continue. His heart thudded in his ears.

"It's n-not true. None of it. She asked me to make the whole thing up, so you would think she's evil and act against Chase. I mean, they did take my family. She told the guards she was going to kill me, but she let me go free and asked me to find you guys and tell you what I've told you..."

Clay's jaw dropped.

"We gotta catch up to Rai before he does somethin' stupid." Jimmy nodded, frightened and nervous. Clay went to the corner of the cave and dived into a chest that Master Fung had kept all the Shen Gong Wu in. Clay rumbled around inside it for a moment and pulled out the Crouching Cougar. He activated the Shen Gong Wu and climbed inside.

"Are you comin' bud?" Clay called, whilst Jimmy felt like he was about to faint. He had never seen anything quite like this, and the sight of it made his knees knock together. Clay rolled his eyes, "Now's not the time to be skittish of the Wu, Jimmy. Now get in the Wu cos' we've really gotta go!"

Clay held his enormous hand out to Jimmy and helped him climb inside.

"Hold on tight, partner, we gotta lot of distance to cover in a short amount of time." Clay said as Jimmy braced himself. He still looked terribly pale and weak.

"I just hope we get there first." Jimmy said quietly, mostly to himself.

Kimiko stood, feeling exceptionally powerful as she watched over the frightened villagers.

"So, since you all want to live, do you all agree to live under Chase's rule?" She smirked, impersonating Chase again.

The frightened villagers nodded, whispering to their loved ones and clutching each other tightly for support. The jungle cats were sitting around the huddled bunch; it was not a large village at all, just a small farming village, surrounded by fields of crops and pens full of farm animals.

Kimiko smirked again.

"Good, then I can leave you all alive and well – but know this, if anyone rebels against Chase, he _will_ kill you."

A shadow in the sky happened to cross Kimiko's sunlight, making her look up, just in time to see the tail of a dragon disappearing over her head. She whipped around as he heart started pounding in her ears. Then she saw it. It was unmistakably Dojo.

"They're coming." Kimiko said flatly to herself, "Shit..." She whispered. She turned away from the villagers and gestured towards the jungle cats, "Quickly, we have to get out of here."

The jungle cats snapped at the feet of the villagers as they passed them, causing several squeals of terror and fright, but no one was injured.

"Quickly!" Kimiko hissed at them. She never realised frightening she was until the villagers jumped when she spoke, startled by her sudden burst of anger. They were all clearly confused, but Kimiko didn't care. She couldn't let the monks find her here. It had to be perfect – she had to be at Chase's home so that they could take him down too. Why didn't they understand this?

Kimiko turned on her heels and ran, faster than she'd ever run before, across the fields. She hoped that the crops would provide some cover for her, but she realised that from the sky, a black figure followed by various moving splotches of brown, orange and black would be highly noticeable in fields of green and yellow.

Cursing under her breath, Kimiko kept her eyes peeled for Dojo as she darted through the field, trying to get back to Chase's home as fast as possible. She spotted a tiger in front of her that was running faster than the rest of the cats, and in one quick burst of power; she leapt onto its back. It flinched under the added weight, but kept running.

"Go! Quickly!" She ordered the cat, holding onto its fur tightly. Kimiko swivelled her head round, trying to watch from all directions for Dojo. It was imperative that the monks be at Chase's home when they attacked. If they thought Kimiko was running from them, they would most definitely pursue her. Kimiko knew her best chance was to run to Chase's home, where they would most certainly follow. She looked behind her to see a green blob in the cloudless sky. The blob was far behind her, but very low. She thought she could see another blob on top of Dojo, but she couldn't make out who it was – Dojo was too far behind them. Urging the tiger forward, Kimiko held its' fur tighter.

"Please..." She pleaded in the tigers' ear, "We have to get out of here..."

She wheeled her head around again. Dojo was drawing closer. She could now see him much more clearly. Kimiko squinted to see that figure on Dojo's back. There was definitely someone with him and whoever it was, was going out of their way to make sure that Kimiko knew she was being followed; Dojo hated flying low and Kim knew this. Whoever was with Dojo was making him fly lower to the ground.

She wasn't sure if it was the thudding of the tiger's paws against the soft dirt or her heart, but something was thudding far too loudly for Kimiko to think straight. As Kimiko and the rest of the jungle cats reached the edges of a forest, she knew they could slow down slightly, as Dojo would have a harder time seeing through a thick forest he was too big to fly through.

Panting for breath and trying to steady her heart rate, Kimiko made the cats slow down a little. She climbed off the tiger's back, feeling sorry for making it run so far so quickly. Kimiko kept glancing around nervously. She knew that they weren't far from Chase's home now. It was on the other side of the forest, but it was a fair walk to get there. Kimiko kept up a brisk pace as she made her way through the forest, glancing round for Dojo's shadow.

After what felt like hours of walking, there was still no sign of Dojo and Kimiko felt much more at ease. The jungle cats followed behind her loyally, but Kimiko could tell they didn't have the faintest idea what she was doing. They probably assumed that Dojo had frightened her.

They finally reached the edges of the forest. Kimiko searched the sky, looking for a shadow or a flicker in the mass of blue; but there was nothing, not even a single cloud in the sky. Kimiko stepped out from the safety of the forest and kept a fast-paced walk towards the mountain path that led to the entrance of Chase's home.

Suddenly, there was a loud yell and a whimper of pain as one of the jungle cats was flung across the clearing back towards the trees. It slammed into a rock and lay still. Suddenly, there was a flash of white and brown. A blurry figure was darting across the clearing, picking off the cats one by one. The air was filled with the whimpers of injured cats and the cries of effort from the figure. Kimiko didn't even stop to notice who it was. In the confusion, she ran up the path, trying desperately to get to Chase's home. It wasn't too far away now.

A set of footsteps echoed behind her. She didn't dare turn around to see how close they were to catching up with her. The volume of the footsteps told her that they were far too close for her liking. She could hear the person's breath and their panting, as well as her own – but the far loudest noise of all was her heartbeat. There was a groan of effort and a cyclone of wind brushed past her, narrowly missing her.

By this time, Kimiko knew who was behind her. Her throat was dry and there were stabbing pains attacking her heart that had nothing to do with her fatigue. It was all too much. The footsteps grew dangerously close. He was surely within grabbing distance of her now and Chase's door was only a few feet away.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered as she curled her fingers. She closed her eyes as a single droplet leaked from her eye. Fire burst from her fingertips and shot straight from her hand at Raimundo. There was a loud noise confirming that the fire had hit its' target. Then the thud of Raimundo hitting the stoney floor and the groan of agony that followed. Kimiko wiped the moisture from her eyes and ran through the door. She rushed to close it behind her, just in time to see Raimundo staring at her with a pained expression as she closed the door.

The noise of the door slamming echoed through Chase's home. It cut off all the sounds from outside. Kimiko's panting suddenly seemed a million times louder and her heart was thudding too quickly. She found it strange that her heart was silent as it cracked inside her already hollow chest.

She leant against the door, wiping her eyes and nose, trying to pull herself together. The booming voice of Chase echoed through his home.

"KIMIKO!"

The floor shook beneath her. Suddenly Kimiko couldn't remember why she had tried so desperately to return to the place she loathed.


	22. Two Way Torture

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: TWO WAY TORTURE

Something hot collided with Raimundo's stomach, winding him. He fell to the floor. Dojo yelped – he'd been hiding in the pocket of Raimundo's hoodie, but was crushed as Raimundo fell forward. Then, Dojo was whimpering and trying desperately to get out of his pocket, but poor Raimundo was winded, and laid on his side, trying to catch his breath on the dusty ground.

Raimundo groaned, holding his stinging stomach with his hands. Kimiko's fireball had his him squarely on his stomach. His hoodie had then caught fire when her fireball had hit him, which he had to pat out. When he looked, the fire left a large, angry, red patch on his stomach, which stung him painfully. His hand was also stinging from the sheer heat of the flames.

"Kim…" He looked up just in time to see her face disappear from the crack of the closing doors to Chase's home.

His stomach wasn't the only thing hurting anymore – his heart, that silly little muscle that pumped furiously whenever he saw Kimiko, was urging Raimundo forward. Every instinct he had told him to get up and run to her, to take her in his arms, to hold her tightly, to whisper in her ear that he loved her, and that it was his entire fault that she was there; if Chase hadn't caught him, Kim never would've agreed. He'd never thought of it that way before, but it was too late for shifting the blame now, because it was simply too late to fix it. She was just like Chase, the Kimiko that Raimundo knew and loved was long gone – or so he thought.

The soft thudding of paws sounded behind him. Raimundo tried to clamber onto his feet, but something sharp caught him across his back, knocking him forwards again.

"Dojo…" Raimundo choked, and the small green dragon fled from his burnt pocket, along the craggy rocks and out into the forest, avoiding the eyes of the jungle cats, who obviously mistook him for a simple lizard.

Without warning, more cats surrounds. They all had anger in their eyes, yet a desire was also visible within their eyes; revenge. Helplessly, the considerably weakened boy suffered the claws of the jungle cats, before three of them transformed into the strange-looking warriors and two hoisted Raimundo to his feet. Then, the other warrior thrust the handle of his sword against Raimundo's skull, which knocked him cleanly unconscious. They half carried; half dragged him towards the doors, taking him inside the one place that no one should ever enter alone – Chase's home.

Kimiko brushed away the tears from her eyes, trying to steady her thumping heart, which was stabbing away at her chest. She leant against the door, catching her breath, before pushing herself unsteadily to her feet. She began making her way to Chase's throne room; forcing her stiff legs to comply to her mental orders, but for some reason, her legs were like jelly. She kept stumbling when her numb body wouldn't move properly. It seemed to take her years to do the simplest task. Her heart was pounding painfully against her chest and her ears were ringing too loudly for her to hear properly.

How could she have left him there? She had just wounded him for goodness sake! She had just burnt one of her old friends, and left him to be discovered by whoever would find him first. She only hoped that Clay and Omi knew where Raimundo was, and found him before Chase did.

When she eventually reached Chase's throne room, he was pacing in front of the thrones with his arms behind his back, staring at the floor with a furious expression, which was emphasised by the light of the flames against the paleness of his face.

"Why did you run?" He asked, glaring at her accusingly, "You could have easily beaten him."

"I was afraid that he would have back up, I didn't want to start a fight I couldn't finish." Kimiko lied instantly. "You know how the Dragons work. They have extra strength in numbers." Kimiko hated talking about the Xiaolin Monks. Her mentality was still set that she was one of them, so it was difficult for her to describe herself in third person.

"Liar." Chase spat, sensing her pain, "Tell me the real reason, Kimiko. There was one dragon against you, plus my jungle cats. Do not lie to me and assume that I would be foolish enough to believe you. Need I remind you that you have given my your word as a Xiaolin dragon that you were to remain loyal to me, or do you need a reminder of that?"

Kimiko started to tremble, but said nothing. She had no idea what to say. Her mind was weighing up the possibilities, but it was not looking good. It was going to be difficult to worm her way out of this one without lying to Chase. She had, after all sworn loyalty. Whether she was loyal or not, she had to at least pretend to be.

Chase suddenly changed his stance and expression. He returned to his expressionless face and stepped towards her. Kimiko did not dare to move. Like her legs had been glued to the floor, they would not move at all, no matter how much she tried.

He leant towards her. His face came close enough to hers that she could feel his breath against her cheek. He leaned a little more and whispered into her ear.

"What can I do, Kimiko, to make you understand that you swore your loyalty to me?" He breathed in her ear softly.

"I do understand…" She replied shakily. He chuckled.

"Not from what I can see. You regard yourself as one of them, even after all this time. Do you believe that they will, as you would say, "come to your rescue"?" He snorted, backing away from her. "I desire the proof that you really mean what you say."

"H-how?" She stammered. Her eyes never left his face. She was still trying to regain the feeling in her legs.

"You will prove you loyalty to me, or else I shall have little use for you or your mind. Now I have been lenient so far. I have not brainwashed you, so to speak. If I chose to, I could control your mind completely. Who could speculate as to what you might do if your mind was not your own?" He smirked nastily, and the image of his face appeared in Kimiko's mind.

Damn, she thought. She thought she had learned to block him out of controlling her mind. Maybe she was just out of practise. Kimiko's legs were still like huge heavy blocks of ice, weighing her feet to the floor, but her knee's were knocking together. She was scared. What humiliating task would Chase have her doing?

"If you cry, it will last longer." Chase's face cracked into the most malicious grin she had ever seen anyone pull as he diverted his eyes behind her. The doors behind her creaked open, so she turned around, not fully expecting what she saw.

Suddenly her legs weren't glued to the floor, they could have run for miles and miles. She didn't know whether to feel nauseous, scared, upset or angry, but she knew she definitely felt faint. Tears rushed to her eyes, but recalling Chase's warning, she swallowed as she watched the pitiful sight.

Her heart was thumping painfully hard again, rattling around inside her chest.

Two warriors were dragging something along the floor; it flopped and stayed limp. They threw it harshly to the floor, and left it on the floor in a tangled heap.

He didn't move.

"Bind him, and remove the clothing upon his torso." Chase's voice commanded inside her mind in a tone filled with authority. It didn't cause her pain when Chase invaded her mind anymore. She wondered if Chase had been invading her mind for a long time without her noticing. In his gloved hands, he held some rope and a dark brown, leather whip, which he was curling through his fingers. Kimiko hesitated.

"Do as I say. Do not defy me." Chase snarled inside her head. It was obvious now what Chase expected her to do.

"You malicious bastard…" She whispered in a shaking voice.

Chase chuckled and stepped back, folding his arms expectantly and leaning against the wall.

Wobbling unsteadily on her feet, Kimiko moved more slowly than she would have liked and knelt next to the bundle on the floor. His clothes were in tatters, hanging limply off his body where the jungle cats had slashed him. There would countless cuts and wounds upon his body.

"I can't do it…" She whispered, "I won't… I can't… I'm sorry…"

"Kimiko, if I have to force you to do it, I will…"

If I don't do this, he'll do it ten times worse, she thought.

The sickening sight made Kimiko's whole body tremble and ache. His eyes wheeled in their sockets, clearly blurred. With a large tug, she tore the material on his hoodie, ripping the remaining tatters away, leaving him bare-chested. He muttered something incomprehensively, which she pretended not to hear and Chase threw her some ropes lazily. She bound his hands together with shaking fingers. He didn't resist. She grabbed his shoulders and heaved the deadweight up. Despite her size and reluctance to complete her heartbreaking task, she carried him with ease. He was barely conscious, unable to focus his vision or talk properly.

Kimiko's eyes stung again.

No, Kim. Be strong… She told herself, but it just made her eyes sting even more.

The bundle groaned.

"Over there." Chase commanded, pointing at a large metal hook hanging from the tall ceiling.

Kimiko pulled him over, using her remaining strength to lift up his arms and loop them over the hook. She lowered his feet gently to the floor. Chase snapped the hook around, forming a loop so that the ropes could not come loose.

"I'm sorry, Rai…" She whispered in his ear and kissed his lips softly. A tear dropped from her eye before she could stop it. The pain was too much already. It was unbearable. There was a small but distinct chuckle from the wall where Chase was leaning so casually.

His arms were held up high by the hook, leaving him vulnerable and defenceless.

Chase threw a whip at Kimiko, which she caught with one hand. Her whole body burned with unreleased anger and energy.

"I can't…" She whispered, but she knew she would have to.

"Either you do it, or I will." Chase said harshly, with no trace of sympathy in his voice.

Kimiko glared at Chase, her expression was filled with hatred for what he was blackmailing her to do.

She moved behind him, and raised the whip with her right arm. Focusing every little ounce of hatred she had into not crying, she brought down the whip against Raimundo's back.

He didn't scream at first.

It wasn't until the fourth strike that he let out a loud groan of agony.

Then after that, he screamed with each blow. Each strike seemed to cause exactly the same pain to Kimiko. Each scream resonated within her head.

Her heart seemed to split just that tiny bit more as Chase urged her to continue.

Kimiko was glad she couldn't see Raimundo's face, as she knew if she could, she wouldn't be able to compose herself. It was taking all her energy to stop herself from crumbling into a sobbing heap upon the stone floor.

Chase's eyes flickered between Raimundo and Kimiko's faces. His smirk never left his face.

Clay and Jimmy were having little luck. It was almost nightfall, yet there was no sign of Dojo or Raimundo. They had given up using the Shen Gong Wu, as it was too big to fit between the trees of the forest; where they'd been searching for the last hour.

"DOJO!" Jimmy yelled, using his hands to cup around his mouth to make his voice louder.

"RAI!" Clay called in his strong Texan accent.

Jimmy rested for a moment, taking a swig of water from his bottle. They were close to the outskirts of the forest now, and were able to see a thin strip of grass between the mountain where Chase lived and the tree's of the forest. Clay assumed that Chase must use this pathway a lot, so they had been following it, looking for signs of Kimiko, Raimundo or Dojo – but they'd found nothing so far.

"This is hopeless," He said, glancing around the tree's one last time, "We're never going to find Raimundo or Dojo."

"But, if they ain't out here, then they're in there." Clay panted as he raised a hand towards the large mountain above, where Chase resided.

"That's Chase Young's home?" Jimmy asked, staring at it in disbelief, his jaw open slightly.

"Yup. And going in there ain't nothing good. But, you're right. We should turn in for the night. If Rai ain't back by then, then we'll know he ain't coming back and we'll head in there." Clay gestured with his thumb to the large mountain. Jimmy nodded in agreement, but he was curious. After all, his parent's were in there - just a few hundred feet above him.

The sudden urge to run to them was overpowering. Within seconds, Jimmy had hatched a plan. He feigned needing to go to the bathroom, and asked Clay to head back down the grassy pathway, assuring him that he would catch up as soon as he was done. Clay agreed, and started strolling back down the pathway, whistling. After Clay was out of sight, he ran.

And kept running,

And running…

And running…

Jimmy didn't even stop when he reached the exterior of Chase's dwelling.

Kimiko dropped the whip, shaking uncontrollably. Her whole body pulsed with hatred for Chase. She had thought once or twice about turning the whip on him, but he was in her thoughts now – she would struggle to best him without this advantage.

"Now you have proved yourself." Chase smiled at her, "You shall be rewarded. I know you yearn for your friends. Yet you were able to do this. I will let you return Raimundo to the monks custody, so you will feel at ease that he is safe."

Kimiko turned towards Chase and her heart seemed to inflate slightly. It was a chance to see her friend's again, even if for a few seconds.

"If you had been loyal all along, poor Raimundo would never have had to suffer." Chase said quietly, taking the bloody whip from Kimiko's hands.

The short feeling of inflation diminished instantly. Chase was right, it was all Kimiko's fault. If she'd just acted that tiny bit more loyal to Chase, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe Kimiko was going to stay here forever. Maybe Chase would have her doing this daily to toughen her up. Maybe this was going to be normal from now on. If she was capable of doing it to her friend, then she was certainly capable of doing it to someone else.

"There is to be no talking to them. I shall be watching you. Simply take him back, and learn your place now Kimiko. You must learn that you are not one of them." Chase said sternly, closing the door behind him as he left Kimiko with Raimundo, who hung from his wrists loosely.

Raimundo wasn't awake anymore. Whether it was from exhaustion, the unbearable pain, or the blood loss; his eyes were no longer open. Great, bloody, gashes were scattered across his back where Kimiko had been whipping. They were oozing with blood freely. It had even started dripping to the floor, leaving a little puddle at his dirty feet.

His head lolled on his shoulder. When Kimiko finally worked up the courage to shuffle around and look at his face; her legs turned to jelly and she collapsed onto the floor, sobbing hysterically.

Raimundo's face was twisted with pain, swollen and red, as if he'd been crying a lot. His whole face shone with sweat, which was still dripping from his jaw.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rai. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry." Kimiko whispers, cupping his face with her hands, but then she recoiled when she realised her hands were bloodstained. She trembled, but she couldn't describe why. As all the tears escaped her, she kissed his lips softly, untying his hands from the hook.

His body flopped on top of hers, and she had to work to support his body with her own, sobbing, shaking body. It was a miracle she could stand, let alone carry a boy, who was much bigger than her.

Jimmy ran through the corridors of Chase's home, feeling like he was in a cage of crocodiles – the jungle cats had already encountered him once. He'd somehow managed to execute a move Omi had taught him back at the cave, and the jungle cats were left on the floor as Jimmy flew past them.

He heard a groan of effort, echoing through the maze. He ran, hoping to avoid the mysterious entity. He turned a corner, glancing nervously over his shoulder. He didn't notice anyone was there until he crashed into him or her.

"Jimmy!" Kimiko cried, as both Raimundo and Jimmy tumbled on top of her. Her initial reaction was happiness, but then she remembered Chase's warning – he was watching her.

"What are you doing here? Get out!" She yelled, pulling Raimundo off the floor.

Jimmy's face fell to an expression of fright.

"Is that… Raimundo?"

"Take him and leave." Kimiko pulled Raimundo to his feet and was about to hand him over, when Jimmy shook his head.

"Not yet. I'm here for my parents." Jimmy glanced around nervously, clutching his aching side and panting for breath.

"Jimmy, either leave, or I'll have to make you leave." Kimiko threatened, narrowing her eyes in a threatening way.

"What? No, you said you'd help me!" Jimmy stammered. Kimiko's face fell. It was all over. Chase was watching. Now he'd know all about the plan to help Jimmy's parents. The very fact that Jimmy was here would prove that Kimiko hadn't killed him when she was supposed to have.

Abandoning all hope of her future, Kimiko handed over Raimundo to Jimmy, who was clearly startled by her apparent change of heart.

"Take him, I'll come back with your parents. I promise." Kimiko nodded, gesturing for him to use one of the corridors.

"Take that right, then two lefts. Then through the third door on the right and you're out. Good luck." Kimiko was gone before her sentence was finished.

Jimmy didn't need telling twice. He started heaving Raimundo's weight through the labyrinth of corridors. He was in a bad way – Jimmy had to hurry if he wanted to ensure Raimundo was going to be okay.

Kimiko skidded to a halt outside Chase's room of Shen Gong Wu and thrust herself inside. She ran for the black cabinet on the farthest wall, dived inside and fished out a small, grey key. Kimiko didn't know how she knew what she was doing, but she did.

"I'm sharing his mind…" Kimiko said out loud, then, cracking a smile, she ran from the room and headed towards the dungeons.


	23. Epiphany

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: EPIPHANY

Omi was meditating in the small cave completely alone; awaiting his friends' return. In the other monks' absence, Master Fung and the other old monks had left the cave, unable to allow their frail bodies to sleep on the cold floor any longer. They had begun travelling to a nearby town, seeking accommodation and materials to rebuild the Temple, which had been left in its' smouldering ruins. In fact, it was barely a Temple anymore; just a few bits of blackened wood left standing.

The fire that was lighting up the cave was slowly dying, and sooner or later, Omi knew he would have to revive it. After meditating for so long, his head was beginning to ache from his odd choice of poses for meditating. The stony floor was cold and hard, which made him finally move from his pose. He tilted his whole body and fell onto his side, sitting upright. He felt dizzy at first, but then, he usually did after meditating – he was essentially balancing upside down on his head for hours on end.

Now the world was the right way up, Omi moved to the back of the cave, where he and the others had been storing wood. He lifted one of the smaller logs from the pile and threw it onto the fire. He gave it a small poke with a twig to help it along and wandered to the mouth of the cave.

With a small sigh, he paced along the edge of the cave, rubbing his forehead. He knew that Jimmy, Clay and Raimundo should be back by now. It was all too odd that they were not. It was way past midnight, yet there was no sight of any of his fellow monks.

_Where are my fellow friends? They have spent much time away now, I wonder if I should search rather than wait for them. _

Omi was one of the antsiest people that the other monks had ever known. When forced to make decision, Omi nearly always knew exactly what he wanted, but he nearly always sought Master Fung's advice. He did try to stay focused, but he wasn't often successful when he worked alone. He just got easily distracted.

Sighing, Omi sat at the mouth of the cave, feeling rather alone and watched the scene of the forest and the night skies, hoping for the safe and fast return of his friends.

Kimiko panted, dashing through the corridors of Chase's home. She burst through the doors of the dungeon, aiming a well-timed kick towards the jungle cat guarding it, and plunged the room into light. The prisoners inside the cells all shielded their eyes. They stuck their bony arms through the narrows gaps in between the bars of the cells, showing just how malnourished they were.

"Help us…" Some pleaded weakly. How could she have let them reach this state? They had looked hungry last time she had seen them, but now, some of them looked emaciated. Kimiko ran to the far end of the room, skidding to a halt along the slippery floor.

She almost slipped as she rushed towards the cell containing Jimmy's parents. She stuffed the tiny key in the lock and turned it. The bars swung open.

They were both in a bad way. They were cuddled together, leaning against the wall. Their chests were heaving in unison, both equally underweight.

"Kimiko? Is that you?" Jimmy's mother asked, squinting her eyes.

"Yes…" She managed to wheeze. It was amazing how out of shape she felt now. "We have to hurry. I don't have much time. Can you take this and let out the out the others as fast as you can, please?" She handed the tiny key to Jimmy's mother, who used the wall to push herself upright and staggered out of the cage.

Kimiko watched the pitiful sight.

"Jimmy is here." Kimiko added, hoping it would give her the motivation to move more quickly. Chase would know what Kimiko was doing by now. Why hadn't he appeared? Why had he not attacked or punished her?

More importantly, why hadn't he stopped her?

Just as Kimiko had hoped, Jimmy's mother face lit up, spreading into a wide smile. Suddenly, she couldn't move fast enough. Her staggers had turned into sprints. It took her moments to unlock a large amount of cells.

Kimiko, however, wasn't looking anymore. She bent down, lowering her body onto one knee and peeked inside the smallest cell. Inside, was the tiny girl she had met before. The sight almost made Kimiko burst into tears. Her frail body was slumped against the wall, eyes closed. Her face was filthy and tear-stained. The tatty rag doll that she had carried before was in pieces, with its' stuffing scattered around the cell on the floor. She didn't even look like she was breathing.

Kimiko's heart started to pump loudly; too loudly. So loud that she could barely do anything but dash to Jimmy's mother, snatch the key from her hands, run back to the girls cell and unlock the padlock on the door. Kimiko rushed inside, putting her hand in front of her tiny face to feel for her breath. She could feel it, only just, but it was there.

Kimiko's heart was aching. It was too much. She couldn't deal with it anymore. Chase had wanted to turn her evil, but wasn't that exactly what he had done? In trying to rebel against Chase, she'd only caused more pain. Hadn't she whipped Raimundo? She'd burnt the Temple, she'd almost killed the people in the dungeons, and she'd burnt villages. Then Chase had got what he wanted – to cause pain. Even if it wasn't to others, it was to her.

Now Kimiko couldn't deal with it anymore. She remembered the promise she'd made the last time she'd been in this room. She had promised that if Chase didn't kill her when this was over, she would kill herself. Now, the need to fulfil that promise was stronger than ever.

Lifting up the small girl in her arms, Kimiko called out into the dungeon.

"Does anyone have the strength to carry this girl?"

A few of the prisoners mumbled. Then Jimmy's father called, "What about you? Why can't you carry her?"

"I need to do everything I can to make sure that Chase is stopped. I gave my word that I would be loyal to him as a Xiaolin Monk, but if I can never return to be a monk, then I have nothing to lose, therefore I will do whatever I can to make sure that this never happens to anyone ever again."

The prisoners cheered and whooped. One of them took the girl from her. Kimiko felt a sense of determination. After everything those villagers had been through, simply because Kimiko was too scared to be scolded, punished, or raped again. She should have taken the blow for them, not assisted in helping Chase dish out pain.

Kimiko realised she had been incredibly selfish. Her duty as a Xiaolin Monk was to protect people, yet she hadn't done that at all. She'd been so caught up in trying to make Chase think that she was evil, that she had lost sight of what she had really being trying to do in the first place.

Kimiko ran through the directions out of Chase's home, giving them a route so that they would not run into any jungle cats.

Then, she ran through the middle of the crowd of villagers and started to run towards Chase's throne room; where she expected he would be hiding.

Omi snored lightly. He didn't even notice the small dragon shaking him.

"Omi! Wake up!" When the monk didn't stir, the dragon resorted to other means of waking the monk. In true Dojo style, the small dragon slithered over to the corner of the cage, dived into the small chest where he kept his few belongings and pulled out a gong. He thumped the gong with the beater, and Omi jolted awake.

It was almost morning. The monk rubbed his eyes.

"Dojo? What is the meaning of this, my friend?"

"Omi, you gotta get your butt over to Chase's. We managed to find Kim, but she got away, until me and Raimundo trapped her outside Chase's house. Raimundo almost had her, but she dropped him with one of her fireballs. After that, the jungle cats got Raimundo and took him inside. I waited for a few hours, hoping to see some sign of him. I even flew above the mountains, to see if I could see him. But there was nothing, until I heard screaming. They were definitely Raimundo's. After that, I flew back here to get you, Clay and Jimmy. I saw Clay as I flew back. He told me that Jimmy had given him the slip, ran into Chase's and Clay had been looking around for Raimundo. When I told him what had happened, he went dashing off towards Chase's house. Told me to come and find you and tell you. He think there's gonna be a real big showdown. He says that it's time."

The dragon panted, having rushed through his entire story. Omi hadn't even changed his expression.

"So, what you are telling me is that Raimundo, Clay and Jimmy are all going to possibly challenge Chase, yet I am here, not challenging Chase?"

"Well… yeah."

"Then, Dojo, put on a move my friend!"

"Get a move on?" Dojo guessed, transforming into his larger self and awaiting Omi to climb on his back.

Kimiko burst through the doors to Chase's throne room, to find him exactly where she expected; sitting on his "throne."

She marched up to him, her chest swollen with pride.

"Ah, Kimiko…" He drawled in a bored tone.

"Chase." She spat viciously.

"What can I help you with?"

"I want to know why you picked me. You used to think that Omi was the best suited to be evil. Even Raimundo had his moment. So why the fuck did you have to take away that from me? You've stolen too many things from me now."

Chase picked up on her reference.

"As I recall, it was merely two things." He said in the same tone, appearing to be completely bored by her.

"No, it's three. On top of what you took from me that time…" Kimiko's mind flashed back to when Chase had raped her, making her flinch slightly, then she glared again. "You took away my clean record, my innocence, my dignity. But most of all, you took away my ability to go back to my old life. It was easy for Raimundo and Omi, they never got in this deep. They weren't forced to punish, to hurt people, to destroy livelihoods." Kimiko snarled.

Chase stood up abruptly, narrowing his reptilian eyes, producing a fierce glare. "As I recall, I forced you to do nothing. I merely told you that if you did not, I would. You chose to act of your own accord. Do not think that you are innocent. I did not take that from you, Kimiko."

"If I'd refused, you would have forced me to do it, worse than I would've."

"Maybe, but it was your choice to choose that. You inflicted pain upon those people of your own accord."

"You're wrong." Kimiko said, but she knew he was right.

"Your friends are almost here…" Chase said, looking up.

"Then I'd better hurry up." Kimiko smiled, with a determined feeling swelling inside her.

Brandishing her finger and pointing it at him, she said the words she thought she'd never hear again.

"Chase Young, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown…"

At that precise moment, Omi and Clay burst through the doors, with Jimmy carrying Raimundo over his shoulder behind them. Raimundo still looked like he was in a pretty bad way; he still wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. But there was no time for resting now.

"Chase Young!" Omi yelled, "We challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."

"You're too late Omi." Chase said quietly, smirking.

Omi's jaw dropped in a defeated manner.

"Whaddaya mean, you dirty snake!" Clay shouted.

Both of them had failed to notice Kimiko's presence. Jimmy was the only one who acknowledged her. Kimiko gave a small smile and a nod to him. She saw him sigh in relief. They both had kept their promises.

"I challenged him." Kimiko said, and both Omi and Clay looked at her. Their jaws dropped in unison. The sight of her former friends made Kimiko's heart fill with joy, which made her feel invincible; like nothing could harm her now.

"Name your terms." Chase said, watching Kimiko closely. His face remained expressionless.

"One on one. If I win, I get to leave, and so do they." She flicked her arm to show that she meant the fellow monks and Jimmy.

"And if I win?"

"Then I will willingly give up my mind without resistance. I will be at your disposal."

"You were already at his disposal, I thought!" Jimmy butted in, leaning Raimundo against the wall.

"Not exactly." Kimiko was purposely being vague. She didn't know how they would react if they knew that she intended to kill herself after her ordeal was over. They might try to stop her, but they might also encourage her.

"Fine." Chase said, folding his arms. "And the game?"

"You choose." Kimiko said, gaining an aggressive stance.

"Kimiko?" Clay asked in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend her behaviour. She had hurt Raimundo, burnt the Temple, and done evil things, yet she was prepared to fight against Chase, after swearing loyalty to him? She'd given her word as a Xiaolin Dragon to remain loyal…. Unless…?

Something in Clay's brain clicked.

He'd figured it all out; the reason why Kimiko had given up her word – because she wasn't going to _be_ a Dragon anymore.

"Kim… don't!" Clay shouted.

But it was too late.

The words had already escaped Kimiko's lips:

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"


	24. Mirrors srorriM

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Mirrors srorriM

The magic that Kimiko had dearly missed swirled around her, plunging her into darkness. All went black and she heard the sound of music, saluting her back to the wonder of the Xiaolin Showdown. The scene swirled in her eyes, and before she knew it, she was back.

She allowed herself a quick glance at her surroundings. She couldn't see anything except herself. She was in a room full of mirrors, each reflecting her image off one another. She was confused at first, but then she heard Chase's voice. She could hear his voice ring through the air, yet she had no idea where he, or she herself, was.

"The game is simple; reach the centre of the maze first." Chase's voice echoed; it seemed to bounce off the mirrors continuously.

Kimiko took a glance around at the mirrors; all she could see was thousands of her, reflecting off another mirror – she couldn't even see an opening to get through. She would have to rely solely on her sense of touch to tell where the mirrors were and weren't. Even as she looked up and down, she saw mirrors below and above her.

Biting her lip, Kimiko panicked. She rarely got nervous at Xiaolin Showdowns, but it had been so long since she had taken part in one, she felt rusty. The choice of showdown would be a major disadvantage to her. Chase was clever; he would use tricks and deceit to work his way through the maze.

"Okay…" Kimiko looked around, hoping to spot an opening of some sort.

"Gong Ye Tampai!" She and Chase yelled in unison, and it had begun. Kimiko's heart was pumping furiously in her ears; she was too nervous. This showdown depended on everything; if she lost, the world would surely fall into disrepair.

Kimiko threw her hands against the mirrors, sliding her fingers along, feeling for an opening. When she felt none, she ran along the wall, feeling for a gap. When she reached an opening, she slotted herself through it, and repeated the cycle. She had no idea what was happening. What else could she do? She had no way of knowing where any openings were. For all she knew; there weren't any.

She ran along the wall, feeling for a gap. Her breath echoed, making her feel too claustrophobic. Trapped. Doomed. Failing.

Then a brain wave struck her. With a yell, she pushed out a small amount of the pain and anger that she had been forced to contain for so long. She barely felt the fire rush to her surface before it exploded from her. The room of mirrors was filled with fire. She loved how her own fire didn't burn her – it gave her the ultimate advantage; the fire rushed through one gap in the mirrors, and Kimiko followed it.

The fire would show her the way; it slotted through the gaps that she couldn't see, leaving a trail of destruction in its' wake, making an easy pathway for Kimiko.

Ironically, the old superstition she remembered from childhood sprang to mind: 'You get seven years bad luck if you break a mirror.' Kimiko had just broken a whole room full of mirrors; the glass on the floor was evidence of that.

_Still, _she thought, _I've had enough bad luck for a lifetime. _

She continued onwards, deciding that bad luck was the least of her concerns. She had no idea of her whereabouts.

After seemingly hours, Kimiko's fire had vanished through an opening again. She pushed out her anger; which had become an unlimited supply. She only had to think of Chase's smirking face and she seemed to be able to produce it with ease, but the constant use of her element was exhausting her. She knew if she didn't find the centre of the maze soon; all hope was lost.

She had heard nothing of Chase, and had no idea of his whereabouts. The fire burst from her fingertips, and spread around the room, before being sucked through a crevice, like a vacuum. Kimiko hurriedly followed her fire through.

"Falcon's Eye!" Omi took the Shen Gong Wu from Clay and looked at the solid block of stone. He and the others had been transported to a cloud, overlooking a seemingly suspended, large block of stone, surrounded by nothing but the sky and the clouds. They had been stumped as to what was happening, until Dojo pointed out that Omi was carrying the Falcon's Eye. Raimundo still hadn't stirred, but Clay had sacrificed his water for him, handing it to Jimmy to tip down his throat and rinse the whip wounds on his back, which left pinkish patches on the cloud from his blood.

Jimmy hadn't the faintest idea what was happening, but he didn't want to ask. This adventure had been one too many. While it had been nice, feeling like a hero, he missed his old, simple life of growing crops and tending to the animals. He tipped a small amount of the water into Raimundo's mouth and shook him slightly in an attempt to wake him. He mumbled a little, but his eyes didn't open. He'd been resting for hours now. This didn't seem to worry the other monks though, when Jimmy had pointed this out, they merely commented: 'Typical Raimundo to sleep for hours when he's supposed to be awake.' Jimmy supposed that their main priority was to take down Chase, or at least be prepared to challenge him if Kimiko failed.

Kimiko had been behind for a while, but the use of her fire was helping her along.

"How's she doing?" Dojo asked, slithering onto Clay's shoulder, looking at Omi's face for hints. Dojo had been helping Jimmy tend to Raimundo's wounds; it was remarkable how protective Dojo felt of the monks, even Jimmy had grown on him now. Dojo was like a mollycoddling mother, fussing over her children.

"They are both at the same level now, but Chase seems to be moving more quickly." Omi said, "I believe I can see the centre now. If Kimiko hurries, she may be able to beat him there."

"I still don't understand how that snake knows where he's goin'." Clay grumbled.

"It's Chase Young! He relies completely on his instincts. He's probably using the breeze or something." Dojo threw his arms up, as if it were obvious.

Raimundo's whole body was in pain. Every inch of him was aching, but his back was stinging more than the rest, as though he was being stabbed continuously by hundreds of tiny needles. He heard the familiar Texan accent say something, but he sounded too distant for Raimundo to distinguish what was being said. Someone's hand touched his forehead, a tiny ice-cold hand.

"Dojo?" He murmured, forcing his sticky eyes open. His voice was croaky and his throat was sore and dry. He had burned it out from the countless screams of pain earlier. He winced at the thought of it.

"Guys," Jimmy called, "he's coming round."

Four faces were peering over him, like shadows against the bright surroundings.

"Dude, what the hell happened?" Raimundo asked, looking around as he pushed himself upright. His back stung and he winced, almost swearing.

"We were hopin' you could tell us that…" Clay said, "Glad to have you back though, partner."

Raimundo rubbed his forehead, groaning into his hand. He felt cold, until he realised that he wasn't wearing his favourite hoodie anymore. The images of the jungle cats slashing at his body flashed into his mind. He felt annoyed at the fact that they had wrecked it, but it wasn't the time to be upset over the loss of clothing. He had barely given any consideration to where they were, and it wasn't until Clay turned around to peer through the Falcon's Eye at something that Raimundo thought to ask.

"Wait… Where am I?" His face dropped. He was on top of a cloud, only seeing the blue sky and more clouds.

_Is this heaven?_

"Where's Kimiko?" He asked, a scowl forming on his aching face.

"In the middle of a Xiaolin Showdown with Chase Young." Dojo said in a matter of fact tone.

"What?" Raimundo scrambled to his feet, looking at the stone block suspended, mid-air. All sense of pain and drowsiness was gone.

"I really think you should rest. You aren't looking too good." Jimmy said quietly, looking at Raimundo's red and swollen back. He was covered in slashes, but his back was the worst, the front of his torso was also wounded, but he didn't seem to notice.

Raimundo waved his hand dismissively, as if he could swat the matter away like a fly.

"I'm fine…" He snatched the Falcon's Eye from Clay, and peeked through it, cursing loudly.

"What's going on?" He asked, following Kimiko's figure, which scrambled through a small gap, gasping for breath, before conjuring more fire. He flicked his line of view towards Chase, who was hopping around, never touching the floor. He was moving agilely, gliding through the passages with ease. He didn't know how Kimiko was managing to keep up with him, but she was. They were practically neck and neck.

"I don't know anymore. This is confusing. It looks like Kimiko isn't on Chase's side after all." Dojo said, scurrying onto Raimundo's shoulder. They all stood and looked at the rock, just as Raimundo thrust the Shen Gong Wu into Omi's hands.

"That can't be right. It goes against everything she's done. I was out of it for the start, but she was the one who did this to me." Raimundo flicked his head back, gesturing to the wounds on his back.

"She did?" Jimmy asked, his eyes growing wide. He was begining to doubt Kimiko's word now. She'd sworn loyalty, yet from what Jimmy could make of the odd situation, she was having some sort of battle with him. Did her word mean that little to her?

"Maybe Chase was forcing her?" Clay suggested, taking the Falcon's Eye again.

"Didn't look like it to me." Raimundo grumbled, sitting down again.

"Well, you know, you never can tell what's been going on behind those closed doors." Dojo said knowledgably.

They all fell silent as Clay spoke again.

"Guys, save story time for later… Kim and Chase just reached the centre of the maze."

Kimiko followed her fire, which pushed itself into another opening, disappearing through it. She climbed through the crawl space, dropping out onto the other side. That's when she spotted Chase doing exactly the same thing, opposite her. They were obviously in some sort of large room of mirrors, which lined the walls. A white panel defined the centre of the maze; all Kimiko had to do was touch it, and it would all be over. No more pain, no more suffering; Kimiko would be free.

Chase and Kimiko's eyes met, and both froze. If either made a dash for the circle, the other would move in unison, for both wanted to win.

"Chase." Kimiko spat, hate filled her again, making her feel more volatile than ever. She felt her fire igniting within her again, and she really had to concentrate to contain it.

"Kimiko. I predicted that this day would come; yet I did not expect that you would match my efforts. It seems I have taught you well." Chase mused, smiling slightly.

"You taught me nothing. I found the strength and motivation to match you, Master Fung and my friends taught me everything I know." She took a step to the right, crouching slightly, as if she were a cat, waiting to pounce. Chase mirrored her exactly, stepping in unison with her.

"Did I pass nothing on to you?" Chase asked.

His question made Kimiko think for a moment.

"You did teach me something actually. You taught me that no matter what you do to me, I could never be evil. You taught me that everything I stand for is good. Those things that you did to me, they just filled me with hate and pain, but I never wanted to hurt anyone else or make them pay…"

"I do not believe that you have released all that pain and hate, so where is it now, Kimiko?"

"Biding its' time until the time is right."

They were circling now, Chase's expression showed amusement, whilst Kimiko's showed hatred.

"How inspiring. You amaze me, young monk. The sheer motivation you seemed to have developed is remarkable." Chase smirked.

"Yes, it's amazing how an epiphany can alter how a person thinks." Kimiko snarled.

"Yet you seem to think that you can best me?" Chase asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I don't think it, I know it."

"You seem certain." Chase stated, watching her closelyl

"I am."

On that note, Kimiko screamed. Loudly. Everything burst from her. Her hate, her rage, her pain, her determination, it all burst from her body; like every emotion she had was all pushed into the pit of her stomach, then released in one go. It exploded, the burst of the energy formed as Kimiko's element, producing a huge wave of fire; impossible for him to dodge; too quick to block. It had happened in a split second.

The fire hit him, sending him flying backward into the mirrors, which smashed as he collided with them. The fire took him completely by surprise.

The burst of energy had drained Kimiko completely, and she fell onto her hands and knees, unable to stand. She groaned with the effort of moving. Chase was rising again.

It was now, or never…

Summoning the last dregs of her strength, Kimiko pushed herself forwards. She reached out her hand, aiming to land on the white tile on the floor.

They both were close to the finish line.

A fingertip touched the square.

The scene resolved again, swirling into darkness. The magic of the Xiaolin Showdown was gone, and the all too familiar scene of Chase's throne room appeared again. The former spectators dropped back into the corner of the room.

The Xiaolin Showdown was over…

The victor stood triumphant.


	25. The End

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE END

They were back in Chase's throne room.

Kimiko looked up, her whole body was shaking, and Chase stood over her, victorious, with a smug look on his face. What had she done?

It was all over; Chase had won the Xiaolin Showdown.

She had lost.

She couldn't believe it. How could she have lost? She had been so confident that she could beat him. How could she have failed to beat Chase when so much relied on her succeeding? Every little ounce of effort, energy and will she had, had been put into that last burst. Now, she had nothing left. Not strength, no will; no nothing.

"No…" She whispered. She was on her hands and knees, shaking, barely able to hold her body up. A sob escaped her throat. Chase smirked nastily.

Raimundo and the others looked over to her.

"Kimiko…" Raimundo looked as though he were about to faint. His stomach sank horribly as the realisation sank in. Kimiko losing the showdown meant one thing: Chase was going to rule the world, and now, they wouldn't be able to stop him.

"I'm… sorry…." Kimiko choked, dropping her head. "I'm so sorry. What have I done…? I'm so sorry…"

"You may say your farewells now, and then leave, Xiaolin Dragons." Chase said, nodding over at the Dragons as they stood in the corner, left speechless.

"I won't let you do this!" Raimundo yelled, charing forwards towards Chase, "Chase Young, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."

Chase smiled. "I apologise, young monk, but I am I forced to decline your challenge. With Kimiko at my side, I have more important matters to attend to, as I am sure you will understand." His smile twisted into a smirk, which was so often found on his face.

The monks shouted their protests, but they knew it was too late. Kimiko had willingly entered the showdown. She knew the risks and the stakes, yet she had lost.

"Then I'll fight you!" Raimundo gained an aggressive stance, crouching slightly.

"Raimundo, I don't think that's the best idea." Clay said, putting his giant hand on Raimundo's shoulder, "You ain't in any state to be fightin'. We can't do nothin' here now. We gotta leave." He pulled Raimundo gently away, but Raimundo shoved Clay's hand away and ran to Kimiko, who was still weeping on the floor.

With a gentle tug, he pulled her upright to her feet and his lips met hers. Their kiss could have lasted an eternity, yet it felt only a millisecond long. Her heart was broken, as was her mind, her body, yet everything felt right at the same time. It was almost as if her whole life had been building up to this moment. Her whole body ached to stay there forever. It felt right, and suddenly it was clear now, what had always been there; love. The security of Raimundo's arms around her – she finally felt safe and she knew it was exactly where she belonged, but where she belonged was now a factor that wasn't important. She was at Chase's disposal now, and no amount of love for Raimundo would ever change that.

"I love you…" She choked into his shoulder, weeping against his bare chest. She knew it was cruel to let herself tell him, but she couldn't deny it any longer. If ever there was a time to reveal something to Raimundo, it was now.

"I love you too." Raimundo said quietly, holding her closely.

Chase was looking upon them both, it was fitting that they should be allowed to say goodbye. It would no doubt play on Raimundo's mind in the years to come; when all hope of Kimiko ever returning would be lost. Raimundo was looking teary now; the thought of Kimiko leaving again made every inch of him ache for her. He would have done anything to have her stay. He would have offered himself to Chase if he thought that he would accept him, but Raimundo knew full well that this was not going to happen.

Kimiko pulled Raimundo's ear to her mouth. Tears were still spilling from her eyes, dripping down Raimundo's chest – but he didn't seem to care. She whispered into his ear, hoping that Chase would not hear. "Promise me that you'll take me down when the time arrives? Promise me?"

Gulping and the thought of it, Raimundo nodded. He dearly hoped that he would never have to follow on that promise.

"Look after each other… and make sure Jimmy gets home safely to his family." Kimiko said, reaching out towards Omi and Clay, who stepped forwards and each received a long hug and a kiss on the cheek. Omi giggled and blushed. Clay chuckled and smiled, before blushing slightly as well. They each looked teary, for they knew it was the end of their relationship with Kimiko. Dojo was sobbing hysterically inside Clay's hat, not being able to bear saying goodbye. Kimiko heard the sound of Dojo blowing his nose loudly, then wailing again.

"Thank you, all of you." Kimiko said, "I'm going to miss you all so much."

"I wish this didn't have to happen." Raimundo kissed her forehead.

And then it all changed.

Kimiko's eyes squeezed shut, and she started gasping. She clawed at her head, as though in terrible pain. They others panicked, rushing towards to her help, but then her face became expressionless. She stood utterly still, face blank, eyes closed.

They didn't understand what was happening to her, but to Kimiko; it was all too obvious.

Raimundo shook her shoulder lightly. "Kimiko?"

Chase smiled again. "You should leave us now."

"Kim?" Raimundo called again, shaking her.

She didn't respond…

Until…

A familiar smirk spread across her face. Raimundo recoiled, as did the other monks. Chase was smiling widely.

"You should leave now." She whispered, with Chase's trademark smirk instilled upon her face, mirroring Chase's tone of voice. Kimiko was no longer in control of herself.

When Raimundo moved to touch her again, Kimiko's fingers curled and fire burst from her fingertips. Raimundo flinched, swearing as the fire scorched him before he could touch her.

"Go now, or else I shall be forced to remove you myself." She said in a tone that clearly showed that she meant business. Her eyes remained closed, but her eyebrows lowered slightly, forcing her expression into an angry frown.

Raimundo stared at his love helplessly, as Omi and Clay pulled him away from her, starting to drag him towards the door.

"It is too late now…" Kimiko smiled again, "This marks the beginning…"

"The beginning of what?" Jimmy asked, piping up for the first time.

Kimiko's smile faded as he spoke. "The beginning of the end, of the Xiaolin Dragons…." Her eyes burst open, revealing reptilian-like eyes that were all too familiar. Another nasty smirk spread across her face.

It was done…

Kimiko's mind was no longer her own…

Chase laughed coldly, "Come, Kimiko. We have much to do in so little time." He was excited.

_That bastard..._ Raimundo thought as Chase led her out of the room. Raimundo could hear his heartbeat in his ears, which was thumping furiously. Raimundo silently pledged an oath that he would love Kimiko forever and always, and that someday, he would make Chase pay for taking her away from him. He watched as his love left the room. He was amazed that his heart was still thumping in his ears. How could it when it was broken?

The Xiaolin monks, Jimmy and Dojo were left alone, speechless in Chase's throne room. It was all over. Kimiko was gone for good. Chase going was going to rule the world; nothing was going to save her now.

The world was going to suffer at the hands of Kim and Chase.

The monks only hoped that they would be able to stop it, but they held little hope of things ever returning to the way they should be, ever again.

THE END

* * *

**(Desperate for more? Then check out the _sequel_ which is now in progress. Either visit my profile for it, or do a search under MaskedMisfit. It is called As The World Falls Down.)**


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